Summary 　Alzheimer disease（AD）is the most common cause of dementia among the elderly. The pathological hallmarks of AD are senile plaques, mainly containing amyloidβ protein（Aβ）, and neurofibrillary tangles, containing hyperphosphorylated tau protein, along with neuronal loss. At present, the pathogenesis of AD is still unclear, and there is no effective treatment and useful biomarkers for AD. The focus of the current review is about the recent progress in the basic research of AD. It consists of 3 subjects：new Aβ oligomer theory, a surrogate marker for Aβ42, and neuron to neuron propagation hypothesis of tau.