Abstract:Unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) is one of the advanced technologies for human to explore and understand the ocean. It is an important equipment for China's construction of a marine power. This study introduces the current development status of UUV, with special focus on the latest application achievements of China's pedigree UUV developed by Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in deep-sea mineral resource exploration, deep-sea scientific research, abyss research and North-South polar expedition. Combined with the current research basis of UUV, the development and application of underwater vehicle in the future are prospected. Through the research and development of far-reaching marine scientific research equipment adapted to extreme marine environment, the technological leap from voyage type scientific research mode to deep-sea long-term resident scientific research mode is realized, and the revolutionary transformation from manned scientific research mode to unmanned scientific research mode is also realized.