Abstract: In order to obtain a clear picture about the current research status on visual literacy both at home and abroad, 203 papers on visual literacy education from CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang database were selected and content analysis method and statistical method are adopted to sort out the concepts and characteristics, research methods, and research content of visual literacy.Some of the characteristics of current research on visual literacy are found: (1) College students are the most studied subjects; (2) The most studied content is the investigation and training of students’ abilities; (3) The most commonly used research methods are research survey, experience systematization, and literature research methods.And problems like too few detailed studies, inadequate researches on evaluation indicators and resource construction, being relatively focused on certain particular research subjects, the lack of research on special groups, the research methods being too monotonous, etc are pointed out.Finally, it proposes countermeasures and suggestions for its future development, such as the expanding of research subjects, the improving of resource bank construction, the establishing of sound assessment mechanisms, and the diversifying of research methods.