Compared with porous solids, porous liquids have attracted more and more attention due to their unique physical-chemical properties such as permanent porosity, fluidity, rapid heat and mass transfer. They have broad application prospects in the fields of gas adsorption and separation, homogeneous catalysis, and others. Porous liquids are generally divided into three categories that include type I, type II and type III according to the composition of the host system in porous liquids. In this paper, the research progress of porous liquids is briefly reviewed, the examples of synthesis, characterization and application of three types of porous liquids are illustrated in detail. Finally, the main issues and challenges faced by the development of porous liquids are summarized and prospected.