This paper expounded the advantages of surface self-nanotechnology in terms of the formation mechanism and preparation method of self-nanostructure metal materials, including simple process, no additive treatment, gradient change of nanostructure layer and no obvious boundary with matrix, and strong applicability, et al. On this basis, the research status on friction and wear of self-nanostructure metal materials at home and abroad was reviewed, including steel alloys, magnesium alloys, aluminum alloys, titanium alloys and other metals. And the problems of friction and wear of metal materials with self-nanostructure were analyzed, including the reasonable selection of process parameters, the study of the friction and wear properties of the high-temperature self-nanometer titanium alloy, the study of corrosion and wear characteristics, et al. Aiming at expanding the industry application of self-nanostructure metal materials, a feasible research direction in this field was proposed, looking forward to providing valuable information for researching self-nanostructure metal materials.