Abstract:Supercavitation technology can reduce drags ofunderwater vehicles up to 90{\%} percent. With theadvanced propulsion technology, a super-high speed can be achieved, just likeflying in the air. Supercavitation technology has a remarkable impact on theresearch of naval weapons. Russia has successfully developed the Shkvaltorpedo, which can travel at about 100m/s under water. The researches ontheoretical basis and applications of supercavitation technology are carried out in manyother countries, such as the US, Germany, French and so on,and also in our country in recent years. The currentstatus, problems and applications of supercavitation technology are reviewedin this paper. The basic principle of cavitation, the conception ofsupercavitation and its drag reduction mechanism are introduced first. Somekey questions are summarized, including design of cavitator, generation andcontrol of ventilated supercavitation, stability of cavity and supercavitationvehicle. Then the research progress of the numerical simulation andexperimental approaches of supercavitation technology are reviewed. At theend, some difficulties with respect to large-scale supercavitation weaponsare analyzed, and further research topics in this field are suggested.