The unique advantages of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) film in environmental protection, degradability and other aspects make it a hot spot of current research. It is a common goal at home and abroad to develop new production process and prepare PVA film with excellent performance. In this paper, the advantages, characteristics, types and main uses of PVA film are described in detail. The development of production technology and market prospect of PVA film in recent years are analyzed. The development status and application trend of PVA film are summarized.