Abstract: As a perennial tall grass，reed is widely distributed in China and has a large yield.It can be used in silage，handicrafts，construction materials or paper industry.However，due to difference of growing environment and straw morphology of reed，mechanized harvesting level of reed was relatively low.Technical merits of reed harvester were described from following three aspects：technical requirements of reed harvesting，key technologies in reeds harvesting process，and typical types of reeds harvester at home and abroad.Development trend of reed harvester was also analyzed.