With the development of “Made in China 2025”,processing technology is developing constantly, especially in terms of machining accuracy and complexity. Electrical discharge machining(EDM)has an absolute advantage because of its advantages of no contact and minimal macro force. In recent years, in order to further improve the processing quality and processing efficiency, scholars at home and abroad use different simulation methods to study the discharge law. Based on the finite element simulation,the modeling methods of energy flow, temperature field distribution, surface roughness, material removal rate, tool wear under different conditions and determination of initial conditions and boundary conditions were summarized.And some prospects for future development direction were put forward, which will provide reference for further research.