For vacuum switches used in space environments, it is possible to eliminate the sealing structures and ancillary vacuum pumping equipment required in artificial environments, effectively reducing the volume and weight. Thus the switches have the advantages of inherent vacuum environment, no need for sealing, high insulation strength, and fast recovery speed, making them highly potential for application in space environments. This paper systemically introduces the research advances of vacuum switches both domestically and overseas. It analyzes and compares the operating characteristics of various types of vacuum switches. Especially, it put the emphasis on the summary of the conduction mechanism of self-breakdown flashover vacuum switch and trigger vacuum switch. It analyzes the application research of cold cathode materials and summarizes the research advances on cold cathode vacuum switch in National University of Defense Technology. Finally, it discusses the development trend of the cold cathode vacuum switch. The research results lay a solid technical foundation for the application of pulse power driving source in space environment.