Abstract: Cervical cancer seriously endangers women′s health，and human papillomavirus（HPV） is considered to be the primary cause. Doctors have been striving to find an effective diagnostic method for judging cervical lesions level and predicting its prognosis. HPV capsid proteins comprise the major capsid protein（L1 capsid protein） and the minor capsid protein （L2 capsid protein），and these two proteins play an important role in assembling into virus particles，trafficking HPV to the cell，and causing the host′s immune reactions. In recent years，studies have shown that the L1 capsid protein can be used to predict the progress and subsidence of cervical lesions. HPV prophylactic vaccines，which are exploited on the basis of the L1 and L2 capsid protein，are proved to get a good preventive effect in clinical trials. This paper reviews the biological characteristics of HPV and researches progress on HPV capsid protein in cervical lesions in recent years.

Key words: Papillomaviridae, Cervix uteri, Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, Biopsy, L1 capsid protein, L2 capsid protein