The work aims to summarize the research progress of calcium alginate gel in edible packaging materials, and to provide reference for further expanding the application field of gel. By analyzing the research status and research results at home and abroad, the formation mechanism and preparation method of calcium alginate gel were analyzed. The future prospect of calcium alginate gel in edible packaging materials was proposed. Calcium alginate gel was widely applied in edible biomass packaging materials, edible pharmaceutical packaging materials, edible food packaging materials, and edible fixed packaging materials, but it should be further researched. The calcium alginate gel has great potential in the fields of fluid food packaging and health care packaging as well as biomass packaging materials in the future.