The article reviews the role of gut microbiota in human metabolic health and disease. It highlights that the gut microbiota, a complex community of microorganisms, plays a significant role in regulating host metabolism and is associated with various metabolic disorders such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic liver disease, cardio-metabolic diseases, and malnutrition. The review discusses the current understanding of how gut microbiota affects host metabolism, emphasizing the need for mechanistic studies to bridge the gap between descriptive microbiota analyses and cause-and-effect relationships. It also explores the use of high-throughput multi-omics data, including metagenomics and metabolomics, to identify molecular mechanisms underlying the associations between gut microbiota and metabolic health. The article further examines the impact of diet, lifestyle, and environmental factors on gut microbiota composition and function, and reviews interventions aimed at optimizing metabolic health through targeted and untargeted approaches, such as probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation. Finally, it outlines future research directions and perspectives for advancing the field of gut microbiota and metabolic health.The article reviews the role of gut microbiota in human metabolic health and disease. It highlights that the gut microbiota, a complex community of microorganisms, plays a significant role in regulating host metabolism and is associated with various metabolic disorders such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic liver disease, cardio-metabolic diseases, and malnutrition. The review discusses the current understanding of how gut microbiota affects host metabolism, emphasizing the need for mechanistic studies to bridge the gap between descriptive microbiota analyses and cause-and-effect relationships. It also explores the use of high-throughput multi-omics data, including metagenomics and metabolomics, to identify molecular mechanisms underlying the associations between gut microbiota and metabolic health. The article further examines the impact of diet, lifestyle, and environmental factors on gut microbiota composition and function, and reviews interventions aimed at optimizing metabolic health through targeted and untargeted approaches, such as probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation. Finally, it outlines future research directions and perspectives for advancing the field of gut microbiota and metabolic health.