Abstract: Lipid second messenger sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) can activate sphingosine-1-phosphate receptors (S1PRs) and participate in many biological processes, such as central nervous system homeostasis, cytokine production and T cell migration. S1PR1 is the main S1PR expressed on T cell surface. The interaction between S1P and S1PR1 plays a core role in T cell migration, which is important for T cell maturation, homing and activation. The central function of S1P/S1PR1 in T cell migration made it a popular drug target in treatment research of immune diseases. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the mechanism of S1P/S1PR1 mediating T cell migration and the research progress of S1P/S1PR1 as drug target.