Cavitation is not only a kind of dynamic process related to the change in fluid pressure but also a universal and widespread phenomenon in fluid machinery and other industrial equipment, especially in pumps and hydraulic turbines. This phenomenon has attracted much attention of fellow scholars since its emergence. Certainly, there are still some controversies in terms of influencing factors of cavitation. At the same time, as the first stage of the cavitation occurrence and development, the research on cavitation inception is always an important subject in the fields of fluid machinery, ship engineering and national defense industry construction. In light of the analysis mentioned above, the status quo of current research on cavitation inception is induced and its influencing factors are summarized. In addition, the existing main research directions of cavitation inception are pointed out and some trends and aspects of future research are explored and anticipated.