Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), a coronavirus pathogen of the pig intestinal tract, can cause fatal watery diarrhea in piglets, thereby leading huge economic losses to swine industry around the world. The pathogenesis of PEDV has been intensively studied, however, the viral proteins of PEDV and the host factors in target cells, as well as their interactions, which underly the molecular mechanisms of viral infection, remains to be illustrated and summarized. PEDV has multiple important structural and functional proteins which play various roles in the process of virus infection. Among them, the S and N proteins play vital roles in biological processes related to PEDV survival via interacting with the host cell proteins. Vice versa, a number of host factors including receptors are required for the infection of PEDV per the interactions with the viral proteins, thereby affecting the reproduction and contributing to the life cycle of PEDV. In this review, we intend to provide an update understanding of the PEDV viral proteins and host factors and illustrate the interactions between them. Additionally, the effects of cellular factors or events or signaling pathways on PEDV infection are also discussed. Thus, these comprehensive and creative insights should facilitate to guide the future research, control and prevention of PEDV infection.