Nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) is one of the most commonly used analytical methods for determination of molecular structure

while diffusion ordered spectroscopy(DOSY) expands the ability of NMR for analysis of complex mixtures.DOSY could “virtually separate” those chemical entities presenting in a multi-component system by measuring the self diffusion coefficient of the component

which reflect the effective size and shape of molecules.Furthermore

DOSY could also provide specific information on molecular size

molecular weight

intermolecular interaction and aggregation state.the basic principles of DOSY experiments

the development of pulse sequences and the application progress of DOSY in related research fields are summarized in this article.Firstly

the development and application characteristics of pulsed field gradient and pulse sequences are briefly described

then the research progresses of DOSY in identifying mixture components

measuring molecular size and molecular weight distribution

and characterizing intermolecular forces are introduced.The wide applications of DOSY in chemistry

pharmacy

food

biology and other fields are exhibited by citing examples.