The NAC transcription factor family members play important roles in regulating plant growth and development. Many studies have been reported in model plants and crops， but the NAC transcription factors in ornamental plants remain systematically investigated. This review introduces the structure and classification of NAC transcription factors， and summarizes these researches in organ growth and development and stress response during 2004-2023， including five subjects： leaf margin morphogenesis， flower development， leaf senescence， petal senescence， and seed dormancy. Many studies were conducted in response to abiotic stress such as drought， salt， alkali， cold and heat， while the works to biotic stress were rare. Since most studies of the NAC transcription factors in ornamental plants are still preliminary and relying on bioinformatics analysis of family members and their transcriptional profile analysis， we proposed the future prospectives of NAC transcription factors in ornamental plants， including： （1） Identification of NAC transcription factors through taking advantage of the whole genome sequencing datasets； （2） Exploration of the mechanisms of NAC transcription factors in ornamental plants； （3） Investigation of the regulatory network in NAC transcription factors interplaying with other transcription factors； （4） Molecular breeding of ornamental plants based on genetic engineering or genome editing technologies.