Dry eye is a multi-factorial disease of tear film and ocular surface, and it can result in discomfort, visual disturbance and tear film instability and potential damage of ocular surface,accompanied by hyper osmolarity of tears and ocular surface inflammation. Inflammation is the key factor to dry eye. Many kinds of immune cells and inflammatory factors are involved in the occurrence and development of dry eye syndrome. Cell apoptosis, nerve dysregulation, disorders of sex hormones also play an important role in pathologic process of dry eye. Recently, while illustrating the pathophysiology and pathogenesis of dry eye has been made some progress, there is still no single standard. The possible mechanisms of ocular surface inflammation and tear dysfunction of dry eye were reviewed in this article.