The high-temperature rocket exhaust plume has become the focus of the space-based infrared system detection, tracking, classification and identification tasks due to its prominent infrared radiation signatures. The physical modeling and numerical calculation of the emission and transmission mechanism of the plume radiation signatures has always been a hot issue in the field of target detection, and is also developing towards high accuracy and efficiency. Focusing on the various links involved in the infrared radiation calculation link of the plume, the research situation is summarized from the aspects of reacting flow field simulations, radiative parameters of gas and particles, radiative transfer methods and validation of numerical models.