Support vector machine (SVM) has a strong mathematical theory and theoretical foundation support, it is a machine learning method based on the VC dimension theory of statistical learning and the principle of structural risk minimization. The essence is a quadratic programming problem. Firstly, it introduces the theoretical basis of support vector machines, summarizes the application principles and current situation of support vector machines in the field of life, and finally looks forward to the research direction and development prospects of support vector machines.