RESUMEN
High altitude pulmonary edema is a fatal acute non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema caused by the environment of low pressure and hypoxia,when people have their fast access to the plateau (general elevation≥2500 m). It is a serious threat to human health. Pathogenesis of high altitude pulmonary edema is still not entirely clear and may be due to ventilation/perfusion imbalance, chemical receptors changes, water channel protein decreased, pulmonary microvascular changes and genes. Treatment of high altitude pulmonary edema should be mainly far away from the environment of low pressure and hypoxia as soon as possible, and comply with ox?ygen or take diuretics, hormones and other drugs reducing pulmonary artery pressure. This article describes the epidemiological charac?teristics,the studies of the pathogenesis and the methods of prevention and treatment of high-altitude pulmonary edema in order to pro?vide a reference for the relevant medical staff and people engaged in activities plateau.