The work aims to review the properties of wood, polyurethane foam, and honeycomb aluminum as filling materials for impact limiters of nuclear spent fuel transport cask. The impact limiters of the three filling materials were subject to load analysis, and then the mechanical properties of the three filling materials were verified. The three materials had the feasibility of being used as filling materials for impact limiters of nuclear spent fuel, and their shortcomings were also obtained. There is an urgent need in the industry for the filling materials of nuclear spent fuel transport cask impact limiters with excellent energy absorption, limited overload, light weight and less environmental impact. Later, it is proposed to use two materials (aluminum foam and bi-directional corrugated honeycomb aluminum) as impact limiter filling materials, and their characteristics and energy absorption are analyzed to prove the rationality and feasibility of these materials as impact limiter filling materials.