Abstract: With the rapid development of sports intangible cultural heritage, the academic circle constantly reflects on and studies the relevant theoretical and practical problems, so as to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Firstly, the concept of sports intangible cultural heritage is defined by the logic method of “genus+differentia”. Secondly, on the basis of grasping the cultural space element, crowd participation element, body movement element, historical element and inheritance mode element of the concept of sports intangible cultural heritage, the theoretical analysis of its characteristics is made, and the basic characteristics of sports intangible cultural heritage such as inheritance, vitality, bodiness, regionalness, rheology and vulnerability are summarized.Then, based on the characteristics of sports intangible cultural heritage, the functional value of sports intangible cultural heritage is studied. It is concluded that sports intangible cultural heritage has the function of inheriting traditional sports culture, the function of shaping sports cultural symbols and the function of expanding sports cultural resources. Finally, according to the data and materials of field research, the existing types and distribution of sports intangible cultural heritage are studied, including martial arts, games,competitions and dance. The spatial distribution of sports intangible cultural heritage of different categories has obvious different characteristics.