With the progressive increase of aging population in recent years, the prevalence of ischemic bowel disease induced by arteriosclerosis has strikingly increased. However, this disorder has high rates of missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis because of its atypical clinical symptoms. Therefore, the early diagnosis of ischemic bowel disease needs further research. Intestinal fatty acid binding protein is abundant in small intestinal tissue and has the following characteristics: (1)a soluble protein in the cytoplasm; (2) high tissue specificity; (3) abundance in the tissue; (4) small molecular weight and easy detection. Currently, intestinal fatty acid binding protein is widely used in the research of diagnosis of ischemic bowel disease. In this paper, we summarized the definition and the mechanism through which intestinal fatty acid binding protein play its roles, and the research progress of its role in the diagnosis of ischemic bowel disease in view of animals experiments and clinical research.