Intervertebral disc degeneration is a series of degenerative diseases characterized by intervertebral disc dehydration, degradation of extracellular matrix, decrease of proteoglycan content, change of collagen type and rupture of outer layer of annulus fibrosis, and it is the main cause of movement function loss and poor quality of life. Due to the high incidence, high disability rate, high society and family economic burden and poor quality of patients' life, intervertebral disc degeneration is one of the urgent health problems to be solved globally. Macrophages, as the main phagocytes in the body, have established a close relationship with the body at the early stage of growth and development. Research has shown that macrophages are the only inflammatory cells infiltrating into the closed nucleus pulposus, and the count of macrophages is positively correlated with the severity of intervertebral disc degeneration. Moreover, evidences have suggested that macrophages, as inflammatory cells, may directly play a role in phagocytosis or synergistically regulate intervertebral disc metabolism through the neuro-immune mechanism, and macrophage dysfunction can cause the aggregation, chemotaxis and diffusion of inflammatory factors, leading to the degradation of extracellular matrix of intervertebral disc and intervertebral disc degeneration. This review summarizes the relevant mechanisms of macrophages involved in intervertebral disc degeneration in recent years, so as to understand the molecular mechanism of intervertebral disc degeneration and promote the reform and progress of clinical treatment mode.