The piggyBac element is a TTAA-insertion site specific DNA transposon and was originally discovered in Trichoplusia ni. The piggyBac element is capable of precise excision and shows high frequency of transformation in insect genome, and its activity is less restricted by host factors. These characteristics make piggyBac the most widely used gene vector in insect transgenesis. Recent studies revealed that piggyBac-like element is distributed in a wide variety of insect and other organisms. In this review, we introduced the structure and   transposition characteristics of piggyBac and its application in insect transgenesis, and the distribution of piggyBac-like elements was also described