Abstract: Nipah virus is a newly identified paramyxovirus that causes serious respiratory disease and encephalitis in humans and animals. Outbreaks and spreads of this virus have led to the severe economic losses and human deaths since the first isolation of Nipah virus in Malaysia, 1999. Bats in the genus Pteropus are natural hosts of this viruses, and contact with infected animals or humantohuman transmission were thought to be the major route of the virus spreading. As is highly contagious in human and swine with high case fatality rate, Nipah virus are classified as biosafety level 4 (BSL4) agents, for which there is still no available vaccination or effective antiviral treatment. This review provides a simple overview of Nipah virus in taxonomy, genomics and proteomics, epidemiology, vaccine development, clinical and pathological signs, diagnostic techniques.