Abstract:Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is a class of transcripts， which are non-protein coding RNA molecules longer than 200 nt. They have important regulatory functions in multi-levels， including epigenetic regulation， transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulations. A large number of studies indicate that many lncRNAs are derived from the endogenous retrovirus (ERV) sequences， which were thought to invade into the human genome millions of years ago. Endogenous retroviruses have become an important component of the genome， accounting for about 5%~8% of the genome. For these “proviral”， however， the function is largely unknown yet. In this paper， the latest research progress of lncRNA derived from ERVs in innate immunity， anti-virus and tumors are reviewed.