Selective laser melting (SLM) is regarded as one of the most important additive manufacturing technologies. Based on the principle of discrete stacking, a high-energy laser beam was used to melt metal powder. Subsequently, the dense three-dimensional bulk materials were formed directly via SLM. SLM has unique advantages in some aspects, such as production of complex parts, short processing time, and low cost, which has been widely used in the preparation of various alloy-based materials. This paper reviews the research status and the existing problems in producing aluminum-, titanium-, nickel-, and iron-based materials via SLM at home and abroad. The possible future research directions of SLM in the preparation of metallic materials are also prospected.