<p>Natural products often exhibit a variety of biological activities, and structural optimization based on natural products has become an effective approach for developing green pesticides. Cinnamic acid, a representative natural product extracted from cinnamon bark, consists of three structural moieties: a benzene ring, an ethylene double bond, and a carboxyl functional group. Its unique chemical structure endows it with diverse possibilities for derivatization. The pharmaceutically active derivatives and commercial drugs derived therefrom continue to emerge. Although cinnamic acid is widely applied in pharmaceutical research and the food industry, its potential in the development of green pesticides has yet to be fully explored. Based on this, this review systematically summarizes the research progress of cinnamic acid-derived scaffold derivatives in the development of novel pesticides over the past three decades. It further explores their biological activities, structure-activity relationships (SAR), and mechanisms of action, which is expected to provide theoretical basis and innovative insights for the further application of cinnamic structures in the field of green pesticide development.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>