Abstract: Perioperative intestinal function injury, a common complication during postoperative recovery, is associated with preoperative abstinence from food and drink, inflammation and stress, anaesthesia, medication, and prolonged bed rest. It not only affects the digestion, absorption and excretion functions of patients, slows down the postoperative recovery process, leads to a decrease in patient satisfaction and increases the burden of medical care, but also leads to multiple organ insufficiency or even failure in severe cases. Therefore, the prevention and treatment of perioperative intestinal function injury are of great significance in shortening the hospitalisation time and accelerating the postoperative recovery of patients. In this article, we review the factors of perioperative intestinal function injury and the strategies of intestinal function protection, in order to provide a reference for the development of a reasonable intestinal function protection programme in the perioperative period.