BACKGROUND: Postoperative abdominal adhesion is one of the most urgent surgical problems. In view of the complicated pathological mechanisms and various risk factors of postoperative adhesion, surgical techniques and barrier materials have increasingly become the focus of postoperative prevention of adhesion. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the pathological mechanisms and risk factors of postoperative abdominal adhesions and to review the material source, biological characteristics, current research status, and potential deficiencies of different types of barrier materials. METHODS: We retrieved PubMed, CNKI, WanFang and VIP databases from their inception dates to January 2018, and "postoperative abdominal adhesion, etiology and pathogenesis, risk factors, preventive measures, barrier materials" were used as the keywords in English and Chinese, respectively. Fifty-four articles were included in final analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Anti-adhesion materials can isolate the injured area and peripheral tissues through physical barriers in the early stage of adhesion formation, and thus prevent the formation of abdominal adhesion. There are three types of anti-adhesion barrier material at present, including solution, gel and membrane agents. Each kind of material has its own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore we explore the pathological process of postoperative abdominal adhesions, predict the risk factors of postoperative adhesions, improve surgical skills and select appropriate anti-adhesion barrier materials according to actual conditions, which are expected to reduce the formation of postoperative abdominal adhesions.