Background: Zinc is one of the most abundant essential trace elements that founds in all tissues of the human body. The average amount of Zinc in the adult body is about 1.4-2.3 g. It has a significant role in the structure and function of many biochemical pathways and over 300 enzymes contain Zinc in the body. It regulates the expression of genes. Zinc deficiency can lead to sensory disorders, immune deficiency, atherosclerosis and the physical and mental retardation in infants, enhance the oxidative stress and decrease the male reproductive function and fertility.

Materials and Methods: Databases of Pubmed and Google scholar were searched.

Results: Zinc also has an important role on the function of the immune system by increasing neutrophils and antibodies. It is necessary in cell proliferation and growth for the activity of enzymes that involve in DNA synthesis and regulation of regulatory signals. Moreover, it can be described as a caspase inhibitor and growth factor signaling pathway that lack of it leads to cell death. Zinc protects the cells from oxidative stress by the stability of the membrane structure, maintaining an appropriate level of MTs, an essential component of superoxide dismutase and NADPH oxidase inhibitor. This micronutrient can decrease lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status in diabetic patients. Also, adding Zinc to the insulin structure can increases the ability of insulin binding to its receptor.

Conclusion: Zinc deficiency means the insufficient quantities of this element in the body that is common in gastrointestinal disorders, kidney diseases, alcoholism, and malabsorption. Furthermore, it may cause different diseases such as cancer, depression, Alzheimer`s diseases and Wilson`s diseases and others.