Abstract: The probiotics are attracting increasing attention from researchers and are widely used in animal production. The application of probiotics in food animals has no toxic side effects, no drug resistance and no residue, indicating that it has a great prospect of development. Young stage is a very important physiological period for beef cattle growth. At this stage, the microbes from colostrum and the exogenous microbes simultaneously colonize in the gastrointestinal tract of calf and form a specific microbial community. The supplementation of probiotics in calf diet facilitates the construction of the dominant microflora in digestive system, which is beneficial to the growth and development of calf. Here, we introduced the definition and classification of probiotics and the characteristics of growth and development of calf, summarized the research progress on the mechanism of action of probiotics in the digestive tract of ruminants, and reviewed the application of probiotics in calf production.