Nitrogen vacancy (NV) color center is a diamond luminous defect with good optical properties and spin characteristics. In recent years, NV color center has attracted the attention of many researchers due to its great application prospects in the fields of super-resolution imaging technology, quantum measurement and quantum information. At present, high-quality NV color centers with controllable concentration and spatial position can be prepared through various means, which promotes its application in the fields of quantum sensing and quantum information. The electron spin Hamiltonian of NV color center is related to many physical quantities, so quantum precision measurement can be realized by reading the electron spin state of NV color center. As a solid-state spin quantum system with long electron spin coherence time and stable performance, NV color center can realize safe and efficient quantum information processing. In recent years, the sensitivity of quantum measurement has been rapidly improved with the development of NV color center preparation technology. The structure and basic characteristics of NV color center are introduced, and its preparation and application are summarized and prospected.