Abstract: Heat Shock Protein (HSP) is one kind of cell chaperone protein generated when cell occurs a heat shock reaction after being stimulated by stressors. During the cell differentiation and proliferation, HSPs are involved in the processes of protein folding, assembly, transport and other activities which play an important role in cell growth and survival. In the field of mammalian male reproduction, HSP family participates in a series of activities such as spermatogenesis, sperm capacitation, sperm-egg binding and fertilization. Thus, to investigate the biological function of HSP family in male reproduction will not only elucidate the mechanism of male infertility but also further regulate male reproduction.

Key words: Heat shock proteins (HSP), Male reproduction, Spermatozoa, Fertilization, Male infertility