α-Amylase is abundant in plants and animals. α-Amylase inhibitors can reduce endogenous α-amylase activity, playing an essential role in agricultural pest control, and preventing and treating human disease. In the agricultural field, α-Amylase inhibitors can restrict pest that relies on the starch of crops. Acarbose is an α-amylase inhibitor used to treat diabetes. Some αamylase inhibitors are represented by antinutritional factors, while others are proteinaceous. Depending on their structures and sources, researchers have divided them into seven types: The knottin-like type, the γ-thionin-like type, the cereal type, the Kunitz type, the thaumatin-like type, and the lectin-like type. This paper introduces the methods for separating, purifying, and detecting proteinaceous α-amylase inhibitors while examining the structure and inhibition mechanism of several proteinaceous α-amylase inhibitors. Finally, it explores the potential applications of α-amylase inhibitors.