Abstract: This paper focuses on the bending forming technology of thin-walled tubes. The critical applications and high-precision requirements of thin-walled tubes bending technology in fields such as aerospace, automobile manufacturing, and rail transit were expounded. The difficulties of thin-walled tubes bending forming with large diameter and small bending radius are pointed out. The mechanisms and hazards of the main defects such as wrinkling, wall thinning, cross section distortion and springback during tubes bending forming were analyzed. The research achievements of scholars at home and abroad on the mechanism of defects generation, defects prediction and control, as well as process optimization during the tubes bending forming process were overviewed. The contribution of the existing research achievements to the development of theory and technology was affirmed, the existing problems and deficiencies were pointed out, and it is proposed that cross-scale correlation research on the bending forming of thin-walled tubes with small bending radii should be deepened, intelligent technologies and new processes should be integrated, and a precise control system should be constructed in the future to promote its better development in the high-end manufacturing field.