Abstract:In 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic has made the world’s public system withstand extreme tests. Therefore, it is urgently expected to develop a vaccine that can effectively prevent the SARS-CoV-2 in the worldwide. At present, more than 200 vaccines are in the preclinical research or undergoing clinical trials. However, much remains to be studied because SARS-CoV-2 ravaged humans for the first time, and the mechanisms underlying its inducing immune response are not yet fully understood. Moreover, with limited time and clinical application data, it is still uncertain which SARS-CoV-2 vaccine can provide better protection and higher safety. This article reviews the key structure of SARS-CoV-2, the characteristics of immune response, the existing technical routes of SARS-CoV-2 research and the challenges faced by the current vaccine development, in order to provide a theoretical basis for the development of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.