Abstract: West Nile virus （WNV） is an arbovirus, belonging to Flavivirus genus of Flaviviridae family. The transmission of WNV mainly occurs through Culex. Compare with many other arboviruses, WNV shows a degree of host specificity, with a variety of reservoir hosts, including birds, horses, and various mammals, which poses a high risk for human infection with WNV. Human WNV infection cases typically show asymptomatic clinical features or mild symptoms, such as headache, fever and general malaise. However, a minority of cases still progress to severe disease, including encephalitis, meningoencephalitis, or meningitis. This paper summarizes the etiological characteristics of WNV, introduces the progress in the research of the history, epidemiology, and clinical manifestations of WNV disease, and analyze the geography and climate associated factors influencing the spread of WNV in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to faciliate the research of WNV and improve the surveillance, early warning and prevention and control of WNV dsiease in China.