The development of vertebrate mandible involves a series of signaling molecules and transcription factors. The migration, orientation and regulation of the cranial neural crest cell（CNCC） are the key to mandibular development. The transcription factor families play an essential role in the development of mandible and their expression partly determines the specificity of CNCC. In this review, researches on DLX, MSX, OTX, GSC, PITX, PAX, PRX, BARX, HAND and other transcription factor families involved in regulation of mandibular development were reviewed.
