Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has a high clinical mortality. Early warning and active intervention are crucial for improving the prognosis of ARDS. This review will summarize the biomarkers and proteomics related to early warning of ARDS in recent years, analyze various early warning biomarkers related to the occurrence, development and prognosis of ARDS, and discuss the application of proteomics in early warning biomarkers of ARDS. This study provides reference for high‑throughput screening and verification of follow‑up markers.