Abstract: The design quality of the marine propulsion shafting is one of the important guarantees for its safe and stable operation. In view of the number of components and working environment of the marine propulsion shafting, its design is a complex and systematic problem. In order to improve the design quality of the shafting, experts and scholars at home and abroad have carried out a lot of research work, and relevant design units and classification societies have also formulated a series of design specifications and procedures. At present, the shortcomings of the common design methods of marine propulsion shafting have become increasingly prominent, so it is urgent to conduct a comprehensive analysis and study of the existing design methods. Based on the scheme design process of the marine propulsion shafting, the technical progress in the alignment and optimization of the propulsion shafting, the shafting vibration control and vibration reduction control, and the shafting design quality evaluation were mainly summarized. And the research work which needs to be focused on in the future was also proposed, which aims to provide reference and support for the optimal design of marine propulsion shafting.