The blood‑brain barrier has always been a major obstacle to drug delivery for treating neurological diseases. Exosomes are natural membrane vesicles secreted by various cell types, which are identified to play essential roles in intercellular communications. Due to the advantages of excellent biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, excellent natural stability, and the ability to cross the blood‑brain barrier， exosomes are considered to have great potential as drug carriers, especially in the field of brain targeted drug delivery. This review briefly introduces the functional characteristics and drug delivery methods of exosomes and focuses on summarizing the research advances of exosomes from different cell sources in brain targeted drug delivery in recent years, as well as their applications in the treatment of central nervous system diseases to provide new ideas for the exploitation of exosomes mediated drug delivery system.