Formaldehyde-based resins are the predominant adhesives applied in the wood products industry.However,wood products bonded with formaldehyde-based adhesives have the drawback of formaldehyde emission.Many strict regulations have been carried out to limit or reduce the emission of formaldehyde.Furthermore,formaldehyde-based adhesives are derived from fossil resources whose reserves are limited.In order to solve these problems,soy-based wood adhesive without formaldehyde is being explored.The authors review in this paper the following areas that are being explored in soy-based adhesives including the development history,bonding mechanism, modification methods,physical properties and processing parameters.The results showed that modified soy-based adhesive can be used for plywood,flooring production and many other fields.