Diterpenes, an important class of natural compounds, are widely distributed in nature.  As the valuable diterpenoids continue to be found, diterpene synthase in the course of diterpene synthesis get as much attention as possible.  The multiformity of end-product—diterpenoids were also due to the diversity of diterpene synthase.  This paper focuses on the advances in recent biosynthesis pathway of diterpene and types, cloning, catalytic mechanism, synthetic biology application.