Abstract: Marine drug has a long history with slow progression and it has become a hot field of research since the 1990s. With profound marine drug research, several drugs have been approved worldwide, and a number of marine drugs or derivatives have entered different phases of clinical trials. However, the progress of marine drug research and development is still much slower than that of other types of drugs. With innovative structural characteristics and bioactivity, marine origin compounds are an excellent source for drug research. However, the development of marine drugs is confined by many factors and it should be fundamentally solved by the backup of good policy in combination with the resources of social and tecnological supports. To summarize the research and development of marine drugs, the advances and problems of marine medical research are viewed and discussed in this paper.