[Objective] The existing issues in road erosion research and the research directions that need to be paid attention in the future were analyzed in order to provide important basis for soil erosion prevention and control, ecological environment safety and high-quality development of the watershed.[Methods] Through literature review, the definition of road erosion, the characteristics and influencing factors of road erosion were summarized and analyzed. [Results] The main problems existing in the study of road erosion are as follows: ① The research methods of road erosion were still immature. Simulated rainfall/scour test method were widely used, while field monitoring and model simulations were rarely used. ② Most of research contents were limited to the in-site erosion effect of road, and few involve the off-site erosion effect of road. ③ Most studies on road erosion control were focused on hardened roads, and only a few studies were focused on unhardened roads. [Conclusion] Future road erosion study should combine the characteristics of road erosion and its influencing factors, use the concept of connectivity to explore the “switch” effect of road on the transportation of runoff and sediment in the road area and the whole watershed, so as to reveal the influence of road on the mechanism of runoff and sediment transportation in the whole watershed. In future, the maintenance and management measures of hardened road and erosion control measures of soil road should be proposed according to local conditions.