Mastitis is a common disease worldwide that affects the development of the dairy industry due to its high incidence and complex etiology. Precise regulation of cell death and survival plays a critical role in maintaining internal homeostasis, organ development, and immune function in organisms, and regulatory abnormalities are a common mechanism of various pathological changes. Recent research has shown that regulated cell death (RCD) plays a crucial role in mastitis. The development of drugs to treat cell death and survival abnormalities that can be widely used in mastitis treatment has important clinical significance. This paper will review the molecular mechanisms of apoptosis, autophagy, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and necroptosis and their regulatory roles in mastitis to provide a new perspective for the targeted treatment of mastitis.