Background and purpose: Zingiberaceae family has been widely used as an herbal medicine from generation to generation. This review aimed more in-depth into information and correlation about the empirical uses, bioactive compounds, and biological activities, a literature review genus Zingiber was conducted. Methods: Articles about genus Zingiber were collected from databases (e.g., DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journal), PubMed, ResearchGate, ScienceDirect, and Springer), they were sorted based on inclusions criteria such as; related to bioactive compounds and biological activities of the samples and also articles for the last ten year. Results: The screening results obtained 52 reports to review and grouped according to each plant's bioactive content and pharmacological effect. The extensive constituent in genus Zingiber is essential oil. Therefore, the major activity found in this genus was related to antimicrobial and anti-oxidant. Furthermore, the other activities of plants were related to their factual use during this time. Conclusion: The empirical uses of these rhizomes were in line with the bioactive compounds and biological activities.