Abstract: Magnetic refrigeration has always been a hot research topic in the field of refrigeration for a lot of merits, such as high efficiency,environmental friendly and simple structure. This study firstly summarizes the current development of room temperature magnetic refrigerator. Then the structure characteristics of reciprocating and rotary room temperature magnetic refrigerator are described to analyze their advantages and disadvantages. Combined with typical prototypes,the performance difference and corresponding reason are respectively discussed for all kinds of room temperature magnetic refrigerator. Finally,the development trend for room temperature magnetic refrigerator is predicted according to recent research hotspots.