Affected by the pregnancy cycle, the mammary gland undergoes cyclical developmental changes of pregnancy-lactation-involution in the life of female mammals. In the transition of mammary gland from involution to lactation, the mammary gland cells undergo apoptosis and renewal to reach the self-renewal and self-repair of mammary gland, which is defined as mammary gland remodeling. The mammary gland undergoes significant changes in morphology during mammary gland remodeling, and this process varies across species. In rodents, the involution is divided into two phases based on the reversal of phase. The first phase (first 48 h after weaning) is characterized by milk stasis and lysosomal content release into the cytosol and extensive cell death. The second irreversible phase (after 48 h of weaning) facilitates the remodeling of mammary gland. Compared with rodents, the remodeling process of the mammary glands in dairy livestock exhibits a regenerative involution to maintain subsequent lactation. During the regenerative involution, the regress of mammary gland cells is not significant and the mammary alveolar structure remains basically intact. Alveolar structure is heterogeneous and only shows a few alveolar collapses, and the number of apoptotic bodies only slightly increases. The regenerative remodeling of mammary gland is of great significance to the mammary health and maintenance of the next cycle of lactation in dairy livestock. If the dry period of dairy cows is shortened, the milk production in the next cycle will be significantly reduced. The hormones level, proteases, cytokines and oxidative stress have influences on the remodeling of mammary gland through the various cellular signal pathways. Beyond the internal factors, dietary nutrition and various environmental factors, including heat stress and photoperiod, play important roles in regulating the process of remodeling of mammary gland. The current review summarizes the studies on mammary gland remodeling in recent years, and highlights the factors (including hormones, proteases, cytokines, etc.) regulating the regenerative involution in the mammary gland of dairy livestock. This review tries to uncover the internal mechanism of mammary gland remodeling and provides scientific basis to regulate it.