ObjectiveTo summarize the recent advancements in the researches on the pathogenesis of postoperative ileus and explain the clinical significances of postoperative ileus mechanisms for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. MethodsRelevant literatures about the postoperative ileus mechanism published recently were collected and reviewed. ResultsThe occurrence of postoperative ileus were related to postoperative nerve reflex inhibition, inflammatory response, effects of drugs, and other factors, it was a variety of mechanisms modulating each other. ConclusionThe gastrointestinal motility of postoperative ileus is mainly regulated by neural reflexes, inflammatory reactions, and drug interactions, three of which act differently but as a whole in different time segments while the inflammatory response play a key role of postoperative ileus persistence.