As one of the five basic tastes, umami taste is an important sensory attribute of meat as well as an important index to evaluate the quality of meat. The umami taste of meat mainly comes from the umami substances in meat, such as amino acids, nucleotides and peptides. Umami substances have gradually become a research hotspot in the field of food umami science due to their characteristics of improving food flavor and enhancing people’s appetite. In order to provide a reference for theoretical research and practical application of meat umami substances, this article summarizes the classification, taste formation mechanism and influential factors of meat umami substances as well as the methods for the detection of the major umami substances in meat.