The composition of clean fracturing fluid and the thickening and gel breaking mechanism of clean fracturing fluid was introduced. The theoretical basis，system composition，research progress and application situation of clean fracturing fluids at home and abroad were summarized. Through summarizing the problems in indoor research and field application，the development trend of the clean fracturing fluid was put forward，namely to improve the heat-resistant ability of clean fracturing fluid，to control cost，to reduce the fluid loss，to improve the gel breaking performance on the basis of ensurring clean fracturing fluid properties.