The work aims to summarize the research progress of phase change cold storage technology applied to cold chain transportation, and to provide some research ideas for the development of cold chain transportation. Several main packaging forms of phase change cold storage materials used in cold chain transportation were summarized systematically. The advantages and disadvantages of refrigerated containers, refrigerated trucks and cold storage thermal insulation boxes were compared and analyzed. The cold storage technology can effectively improve the energy utilization rate. The cold storage technology had a wide application background and energy saving potential in each link of the cold chain transportation. The phase change mechanism of the phase changes cold storage material, the cooling rate during the phase change process, the simplification of the microcapsule preparation process, and the temperature field distribution in the cold chain transportation equipment are future research directions.