Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the commonest neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the loss of dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons in the substantia nigra and the appearance of Lewy bodies (LBs), whose cytoplasmic inclusions are highly enriched with ubiquitin, synphilin-1, alpha-synuclein and parkin. Synphilin-1 is an alpha-synuclein-binding protein and a major component of LBs. It is widely accepted that synphilin-1 is involved in the pathogenic process of PD. This review will provide an overall view of the role of synphilin-1 in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease and the latest findings in this field.