Abstract: Aluminum alloy exhibits low density, high specific strength, good corrosion resistance and weldability, as well as low cost and excellent recyclability, making it widely used in aerospace, automotive manufacturing, shipbuilding, and rail transportation. However, aluminum alloys also possess high thermal conductivity, a large coefficient of thermal expansion, and a wide solidification temperature range, which makes them prone to oxide formation. The use of traditional fusion welding thus easily leads to unstable welding quality, with defects such as porosity, inclusions, and hot cracks. As a novel solid-state joining technology, friction stir welding(FSW) effectively addresses these problems: the base material does not melt in the welding proress, thereby eliminating porosity and hot cracking, with minor deformation and low residual stress, and it has become a major research focusing the welding field. The recent research progress on the friction stir welding of aluminum alloys, covering the welding principle, microstructure characteristics, the influence of process parameters on the properties, and emerging FSW variants, were reviewed. Combined with the problems and challenges faced by friction stir welding of aluminum alloy, the future research direction of friction stir welding of aluminum alloy were prospected