Abstract Psychological stress and coping strategies are important factors affecting physical and mental health. Unhealthy eating behavior caused by stress is common in children and adolescents, which has not been fully clarified. In this paper, studies on the association of psychological stress with general eating behavior, abnormal eating behavior or eating disorders among children and adolescents were reviewed. The epidemiology and influencing factors were elaborated, and the possible physiological mechanism was summarized, in order to provide reference for the future research.