Abstract: The retained fetal membranes（RFM） is one of the most common obstetric diseases of dairy cow, which poses a great threat to the development of dairy cattle farming industry and brings huge economic loss. In this paper, combining the scientific literatures and reports on retained fetal membranes of dairy cow published in recent years at home and abroad with the actual production situation in domestic dairy cow farms, the etiology of retained fetal membranes of bovine are reviewed, so as to provide theoretical basis for the effective prevention and treatment of this disease.