In recent years, with the development of urban metro, the safe, environmental and rapid construction methods in the metro construction have gradually become hot research topics at home and abroad. In the construction of urban metro projects, shield technology has been widely used in tunnel construction with its unique safety and speed features, and construction personnel are proficient in the construction technology control focus and method of metro tunnels, it is of great significance to ensure the safe production and quality of the tunnel. Modern cities are paying more and more attention to underground development, in the construction of underground tunnels, the application of shield construction technology not only has less impact, but also has faster speed and can better meet the needs of actual engineering. This paper starts with an overview of the development trend of tunnel shield construction technology, and discusses its application and development prospects.