BACKGROUND:Potential mechanisms of scar formation and scar prevention strategies have become more important in current medical research. Scar assessment scales have the potential to contribute to better evaluation of scar properties in both research and clinical diagnosis. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the literatures addressing scar prevention and clinical assessment. METHODS: A computer search of CNKI database from 2000 to 2014, PubMed database from 1975 to 2014 and Foreign Medical Journal Ful-Text Service Database from 2000 to 2014 was performed using the keywords of scar, prevention, treat, cicatrix, assessment, measure in Chinese and English to retrieve articles related to scar prevention strategies and scar assessment scales. Totaly 39 articles meeting the inclusive criteria were included in result analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: During wound healing, the unbalance between colagen anabolism and katabolism can lead to the formation of pathological scar. Prevention and treatment of pathological scars should be combined, and early intervention was used in wound healing. General scar assessment scales include Vancouver Scar Scale, Visual Analog Scale, Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale, Manchester Scar Assessment Scale, Stony Brook Scar Assessment Scale, al of which have the potential to contribute to better evaluation of scar properties in both research and clinical diagnosis.