The Yellow River alluvial fan is an alluvial fan complex composed of multi- stage sediment sequences since the Quaternary. It is a geomorphic unit formed by intensive deposition of sediments eroded from the Loess Plateau, and thus a region with frequent breach and diversion. It is also the cradle of Chinese civilization. After a historical review of the development of the Yellow River alluvial fan, this paper systematically introduces the advances of studies concerning the Yellow River alluvial fan formation age, geomorphological characteristics, deposition rate, developmental process and characteristics, overviews in detail, the influence of river diversion, geological structure, climate change and human activities on the alluvial fan formation. Due to the insufficient studies of development mechanism and incomplete temporal-spatial scale at present, the research concerning the prehistoric alluvial fan development of the Yellow River will be a challenge in the future.