OBJECTIVE: To review the methods of end-to-side anastomosis in repair of peripheral nerve injury and to analyze the difficulty faced. METHODS: By index of recent literature, the kind of experimental model, observation criteria and the clinical data were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: For different methods of end-to-side anastomosis in repair of peripheral nerve defect, the clinical outcomes were reported differently. The clinical application was fewer. There was lack of case summary and assessment criteria. CONCLUSION: The superiority of end-to-side anastomosis made it necessary to further study the mechanism and improvement of quality.