The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is an efficient and clean power generation technology with the characteristics of fast reaction kinetics and low start-up temperature. The current rapidly development of PEMFC technology is expected to be widely popularized. A brief overview of the development of PEMFC was given in recent years, starting from the core components of PEMFC. The core components were classified from the perspective of key materials. The research status and technical features of proton exchange membranes (PEM), catalysts and gas diffusion layers (GDL) were introduced in detail. The research methods, improvement methods and progress of each component were summarized, and the research direction and development trend of PEMFC were prospected. Based on various advantages in high temperature environments, PEM with short side chains and low equivalent weight values will continue to be the focus of research under high temperature and low humidity environments. PEMFC will further develop towards the situation of low Pt or even no Pt， and achieve water balance under humidification-free.