Abstract: Psychological stress affects human beings not only at behavior levels but also at physical levels, which even results in some diseases. DNA-damage is one of the ultimate outcomes of those behavior disorders or diseases. However, the mechanism how psychological stress leads to DNA-damage is unclear. This article critically reviews what effects psychological stress has on DNA damage and the possible mechanisms of those effects. Oxidative stress plays an important role in the process of psychological stress leading to DNA damage. With a theoretical model in health psychology being integrated into some experimental research about acute and chronic stress，the relationship between the psychological stress and the DNA-damage has been clarified. Moreover, potential measures of intervention for clinical practice have been proposed to prevent diseases

Key words: psychological stress, DNA damage, diseases