This paper reviews the research developments in the field of ship lift in recent years.Firstly,the latest research achievements on basic theory of hydro-floating ship lift,cavitation-resistant measures of valve,anti-capsize measures for ship chamber are introduced,and the convergence and stability of this brand new type ship lift is verified through prototype observation.Secondly,hydrodynamics and key technology of safe operation of launching-type ship lift with Chinese characteristics are presented.The innovation technologies on security measure for traditional ship lift type are also mentioned.Besides,hydrodynamic fundamental research and three-dimensional numerical simulation technologies for large-scale ship lift are summarized.