中文摘要：

RNA干扰（RNAi）是由特定双链RNA（dsRNA）引发的转录后基因沉默，广泛存在于真菌、植物和动物中，它是近年来迅速发展起来的高效、特异、易操作的基因阻断技术，在功能基因组的研究中有着广阔的应用前景。研究表明，断裂dsRNA产生的小干扰RNA（siRNA）可抑制哺乳动物基因表达。从哺乳动物整体水平应用研究的角度，对RNAi的分子机制、生物学功能和特点，siRNA导人体内的方法以及应用等方面的研究作一综述。

英文摘要：

RNA interference （RNAi） is the process of sequence-specific, post-transcriptional gene silencing initiated by double-stranded RNA, which widely exists in epiphyte, plants and animals. It is a newly-developed simple gene-silence tool with high specificity and high efficiency being applied in functional genome. Recent studies showed small interfering RNA （siRNA） generated from longer dsRNA specifically suppressed expression of genes. The article reviewed the basic content of RNAi and the entrance of siRNA as well as the applications in mammalian.