Spiro-ketal compounds enjoy widespread occurrence as substructures of naturally occurring substances from many sources, including insects, microbes, plants and marine organisms. The increasing pharmacological importance of such compounds containing spiro-ketal assemblies has triggered intense interest in both their synthesis and chemical reactivity. The recent progress in the studies on the spiro-ketal compounds is reviewed. Their structural features are described in detail and the synthetic methods of some spiro organic compounds are also provided. At last the prospects of this kind of spiro compounds in medicine and pesticide are made.

Key words: spiro-ketal compound, physiological activity, anomeric effect, chiral axis