Gangliosides are glycosphingolipids containing one or more sialic acids in the glycan chains, which are components of the cell surface of all mammalian cells and involved in various important biological processes in cell plasma membranes. Such it plays an important role in the transmission of nerve signals and keeps morphological stability of nerve cells in normal physiological conditions. Gangliosides are particularly abundant and typically more structurally complex in the mammalian brain, which are considered closely related to brain growth and cognitive development. Significant changes of ganglioside content and types in some brain regions may herald different brain diseases occurrence and development. For example, some demyelinating diseases are associated with a significant decrease of gangliosides in brain. On the other hand, gangliosides located on the cell membrane can greatly affect the development of neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumors, such as Alzheimer"s disease and glioma. The brain diseases seem to have different pathogenesis, however, these brain diseases have certain relevance in their pathogenesis due to the existing gangliosides, such Zika fever is similar to Guillain-Barré syndrome (a common neurodemyelination disease). This paper summarizes possible common patterns of the pathogenesis of several encephalopathies associated with gangliosides, which could provide a new idea for the diagnosis and treatment of the encephalopathies.