Background　Sleep is a restorative for brain function, meanwhile, it is a necessary procedure in our lives. γ-aminobutyric acid(GABA) is one of the inhibitory neurotransmitter, which is widely distributed in the central nervous system. It has been proved to be closely related to general anesthesia and physiological sleep.　Objective　To review the relationship between sleep and thalamic reticular nucleus(TRN) that contained the large numbers of GABA ergic neurons.　Content　The TRN acted as an inhibitory gate for information flow between the cerebral cortex and thalamus. Importantly, TRN is involved in attentional processing and sleep.　Trend　To explore the role of thalamic reticular nucleus as well as thalamocortical loop during sleep, and to provide new ideas for the research of sleep and general anesthesia.