The research progress on wave attenuation of coastal ecological vegetation in China was reviewed. Wave dissipation vegetation was taken as the starting point to analyze the effects of stiffness, distribution and inhomogeneity of vegetation on the wave attenuation effect. Then, taking hydrodynamic input conditions as the hitting-point, the similarities and differences of wave dissipation methods under different wave conditions were summarized. Finally, the comparison between traditional breakwater and ecological vegetation wave attenuation was made to discuss the differences in coastal conditions, wave attenuation mechanisms, ecological benefits, engineering maintenance, etc. It is suggested that the problems of plant stiffness, distribution and non-uniformity can be taken as the direction of future study.The combination of wave attenuation by breakwater and ecological vegetation should be attempted, considering the functions of disaster prevention and mitigation, and ecological protection. Keywords: ecological vegetation; wave dissipation test; ecological breakwater; research progress 〖FL