Plague is a severe infectious disease caused by Yersinia pestis (Y. pestis), which seriously endangers human health. This article introduces the general characteristics and biological characteristics of Y. pestis, the pathogen of plague, and then summarizes the status of the plague situation at home and abroad. At present, the global epidemic trend of plague has entered a new active period. The World Health Organization has listed plague as one of the acute infectious diseases that have re-emerged in the past 20 years. The current global epidemic area is mainly distributed in Africa, Asia and South America. Similarly, the human plague in China has been in a clear upward trend since the 1980s. The epidemic has gradually declined in the past 10 years, but the situation is still difficult.