PurposeTo provide valuable information for scholars to grasp the current situations, hotspots and future development trends of reliability analysis area.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, recent researches on efficient reliability analysis and applications in complex engineering structures like aeroengine rotor systems are reviewd.FindingsThe recent reliability analysis advances of engineering application in aeroengine rotor system are highlighted, it is worth pointing out that the surrogate model methods hold great efficiency and accuracy advantages in the complex reliability analysis of aeroengine rotor system, since its strong computing power can effectively reduce the analysis time consumption and accelerate the development procedures of aeroengine. Moreover, considering the multi-objective, multi-disciplinary, high-dimensionality and time-varying problems are the common problems in various complex engineering fields, the surrogate model methods and its developed methods also have broad application prospects in the future.Originality/valueFor the strong demand for efficient reliability design technique, this review paper may help to highlights the benefits of reliability analysis methods not only in academia but also in practical engineering application like aeroengine rotor system.