Abstract: In recent years, biodegradable magnesium-based alloys are showing great potential to be used as a new class of materials and are attracting much attention owing to their characteristics of biodegradation and good osteogenesis inductivity, biocompatibility and other biofunctional properties. These advantages make them promising candidates for fracture fixation and bone repair applications. This paper summarizes the advantages, history, challenges and the recent research progress of biodegradable magnesium-based alloys for orthopedic application.

Key words: fracture fixation, biocompatible materials, biodegradable Mg-based alloy, bone repair, osteogenesis inductivity