Alzheimer’s disease（AD），which is the most prevalent form of dementia，is a multi-factorial induced complicated neurodegenerative disease. Glutamate dysfunction was involved in AD and glutamate excitotoxicity is one of the most important pathogenesis of AD. The function of glutamate fluctuates during the development from normal cognition to AD，which increase the difficulty of intervention study. The aim of this review is to discuss the relationship between glutamate dysfunction and AD. By discussing the physiological and pathological function of glutamate，we probe the possible drug targets for AD in glutamatergic pathway.