Exposure to different types of stressors has been known to increase susceptibility to diseases and disrupting the body homoeostasis. It is necessary for healthy animals and humans to maintain the physiological functions under stressful conditions. Intestine, the largest immune and metabolicsite, is important for animal health. The integrity of mucosal barrier and function are fundamental to protect the health of the intestine. It is reported that stress has profound effects on the gastrointestinal tract including alterations in gut permeability，intestinal barrier and homeostasis. Tryptophan, a functional essential amino acid，that alters the gut microbiota, regulates intestine structural and functional changes，thus contributing to host physiology and metabolism. Tryptophan metabolism perturbations and its metabolites alterations in brain and intestinal tissues during stress suggest that tryptophan may play an important role in stress response. We therefore review the literature on the underlying mechanisms of stress with diseases, and the role of tryptophan metabolic pathway in the regulation of gut homeostasis, with particular focus on functional bowel disorders and their relationship to stress, and laid a theoretical foundation for the treatment of tryptophan in stress-related intestine diseases.