Abstract: Sea cucumber,as a traditional tonic seafood,has high commercial value. But it can easily be stimulated by external factors,resulting in rapid autolysis and serious economic losses. In this paper,the compositions of the body wall of sea cucumber and their changes during autolysis are reviewed. The autolytic mechanisms of sea cucumber are summarized and the control techniques of the autolysis are introduced targeting on the endogenous enzymes. The research strategies focused on the autolysis are put forward.