In human history, infectious diseases repeatedly swept the world in different regions. They are threatening human health and life. At the same time, they have a profound impact on the history of civilization. Nowadays, the novel coronavirus outbreak in China poses severe challenges to the whole country and society. Reviewing the major epidemic and outbreaks in world history, summing up the epidemiological characteristics of these events and their impacts will help us to correctly understand infectious diseases, prevent and detect the prevalence of infectious diseases, eliminate panic, prevent and treat diseases,ultimately defeated infectious diseases. In addition, building a knowledge and education system for infectious diseases can improve the quality of the entire population and achieve the goal of universal epidemic prevention.