Limb (digit) replantation is the primary treatment in salvage of severed traumatic limbs (digits). It is vital to improve the success rate of limb (digit) salvage and the function recovery. Once a human limb (digit) is separated from the body, blood circulation stops and normal physiological metabolism are disrupted, hence result in a series of physiological and pathological changes such as cell degeneration and tissue necrosis, which greatly affect the therapeutic effect of limb (digit) replantation. Therefore, how to scientifically minimise the metabolism of tissues in a severed limb (digit) and mitigate the subsequent ischaemia-reperfusion injury to improve the success rate of limb (digit) replantation is a hot issue in the field of limb (digit) replantation. In this article, a review of current status and progress of existing limb (digit) preservation methods are presented. Through an extensive search and analysis of literatures, the advantages and disadvantages of current limb (digit) preservation methods are summarised in the hope that it will provide a reference for clinical preservation of severed limbs (digit) .