ABSTRACT
Cardiovascular disease， such as coronary heart disease and acute myocardial infarction， is a leading cause of death globally. Due to the limited proliferative and regenerative capacity of adult mammalian cardiomyocytes （CMs）， any of the current therapies cannot reverse the massive loss of CMs and subsequent fibrosis resulting from cardiac injury. Mammals mainly rely on glycolysis in the embryonic stage and fatty acid oxidation after birth for energy production. Recent reports have indicated that this metabolic pattern switch is closely related to the loss of CM proliferation. In this review， we summarize the biological characteristics of CMs and advances in heart regeneration， meanwhile shed light on the important role of CMs energy metabolism in cardiac regeneration.