The article explores the hydrodynamic characteristics of turbine arrays, summarized the general rules of changes in the wake of turbines with different horizontal and longitudinal spacing, combs the optimization methods of turbine array layout, and reviews the research progress of single-objective optimization and multi-objective optimization of turbine array layout from two aspects of artificial traditional optimization of array layout and computer automatic optimization of array layout. The artificial traditional layout structure is simple and easy to operate, and more practical in engineering, while the constraints of physical tests are limited, and it is difficult to simulate the power generation of turbine array in real sea conditions; compared with the traditional layout, the automatic optimization has more practical significance, but it still faces many challenges, such as the lack of economic module factors and the multi-objective, inconsistent theory and practice, and long preparation time.