Abstract: With the increasing depletion of fossil energy, the energy attributes of hydrogen have drawn significant attention. Hydrogen energy is regarded as the “ultimate energy source of the 21 st century”. However, such problems as high cost, low volumetric energy density and high tendency for hydrogen embrittlement in hydrogen-exposed materials greatly limit hydrogen energy utilization. Solving three problems mentioned above is the key issuse for the current development of hydrogen energy. Currently mature technological routes for hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, hydrogen transportation and hydrogen utilization, along with their advantages and disadvantages were described. The commonly used hydrogen damage theories and the existing material selection criteria for hydrogen-exposed materials were compared, and future development suggestions such as focusing on the development of high hydrogen-resistant materials, researching hydrogen damage mechanisms, exploring natural hydrogen and increasing the proportion of green hydrogen in hydrogen energy were proposed. It was expected to provide references for expanding the scale of hydrogen energy utilization and expanding its application scenarios.