Abstract: RNA has received more attention in the field of forensic medicine and the development of the new biological markers based on RNA shows great significance in the analysis of complex cases. circular RNA （circRNA） is a kind of non-coding RNA which is widely reported recently. Although the regulatory mechanisms of generation and expression are not fully clear, the existing research indicates that circRNA has important biological functions. CircRNA has a cell-type-specific expression with great stability and a high expression level, which makes it meaningful in forensic applications potentially. In this paper, the research progress, the generation and regulation of circRNA as well as its biological characteristics and functions are summarized, which will provide references for related studies and forensic applications.

Key words: forensic genetics, circRNA, review [publication type]