Abstract: Plate-fin heat exchanger (PFHE) is an efficient,compact heat transfer equipment. The domestic and foreign research progress on the plate-fin heat exchanger in recent years is reviewed,emphatically introduces the design of PFHE based on numerical simulation technology,heat transfer and flow characteristics of different fin structures,new fin structures,head,distributor and channel structure which influence the distribution performance,optimization design methods,new fields of application at home and abroad. Some prospects and suggestions of the application and development of PFHE are discussed. The research and development directions in the future,such as:combining CFD technology with theory and experimental research in the design,multi-objective optimization designing,Multi-algorithm crossly using,new material and new technology are proposed.