With the development of modern manufacturing, higher requirements on the precision of workpiece surface and quality are put forward, and the use of polishing process does not only influence the product performance but also affects the grade of the product. There are some insurmountable problems in the traditional polishing process, leading to difficulty in meeting current demand for high-quality surface performance. As a kind of new contactless polishing technology, electron beam polishing shows a significant advantage in the current study field. This article summarized the advantages and disadvantages of several kinds of polishing technology. In this paper, a new material surface treatment technology was introduced, electron beam polishing, the basic principle of electron beam polishing and the development of electron beam polishing at home and abroad were expounded. Applications of electron beam polishing as a new type of surface polishing method in the field of research were introduced, and the research developments of electron beam polishing in recent years were reviewed. The main research results and progress, including the polishing mechanism of electron beam, process parameters determination for electron beam of different materials, the influence of incident angle on the polishing effect, the establishment of physical model and the melting pits and cracks generated by electron beam polishing were introduced, and the future development direction and prospect of electron beam polishing technology were presented. Electron beam polishing technology as a kind of extremely advantageous high energy beam surface modification technology will occupy irreplaceable position in the future.