Abstract: | Quantum communication technology has undergone rapid development since its inception in the 1980s. This article divides quantum communication technology and application research into three aspects: quantum communication protocol research, quantum communication engineering technology research, and quantum communication application research. On the basis of analyzing and comparing the technical principles, application fields, and research progress of quantum communication protocols such as quantum key distribution, quantum secret sharing, quantum teleportation, and quantum secure direct communication, this paper summarizes the current research status of quantum communication engineering technologies such as quantum light source generation, quantum random number generation, quantum entanglement coding, and single photon detection. The main research progress in the construction of quantum communication links ,quantum communication networks and quantum communication systems in various countries around the world was introduced. The current problems of low communication speed, short transmission distance, and high manufacturing costs in quantum communication was pointed out. The future development direction was clarified, which can provide some references for research related to quantum communication technology and applications. |