Click chemistry reaction is a method to compound new substances and shows great prospects in material protection and material surface modification due to features of environmental friendliness, high yield and moderate reaction conditions. The work briefly introduces basic concept and features of click chemistry, and emphatically discusses its application in material protection field, including protective material preparation, corrosion inhibition synthesis and surface treatment. The current problems of click chemistry used in material protection are summarized and the development prospect is reviewed. The polymer can be synthesized simply and efficiently by click chemistry and then occupy a leading position in the preparation of protective coating materials. The damage of material can be detected by click chemistry reaction and the failure of the material can be visualized. This provides a new research path for the application of protective materials. Click chemistry can also efficiently introduce different functional groups into the inhibitor molecules so that different molecular structures can be obtained. This can effectively improve the inhibition efficiency of inhibitors. In addition, click chemistry reaction can realize the local modification on the specific part of the material surface. It has the quantifiable and position-able characteristics. However, the number of click chemistry applied in the field of material protection is still very small, and it is still necessary to study the catalyst and reaction conditions of click chemistry.