Turbulence plays a crucial role in the exchange of mass and energy between the surface and the atmosphere, controlling the heat transfers to the atmosphere and regulating the transfer and dissipation of kinetic energy in large-, meso- and micro-scale motions. However, the current study of atmospheric turbulence in the surface layer is usually simplified to stationary turbulence with homogeneity. However, the turbulence in the real atmosphere usually exhibits the non-stationary characteristics of non-homogeneity due to multiple factors (e.g. underlying surface heterogeneity). In this study, we summarize and review the domestic and international research on turbulent flux under non-stationary conditions in the surface layer, and also review the characteristics of non-stationary turbulence (e.g. intermittency, asymmetry, and inhomogeneity). The mechanism behind the emergence of non-stationary turbulence can be attributed to dynamic and thermal factors. This paper discusses five methods for stationarity examination of turbulent time series and the currently used algorithm for non-stationary turbulent fluxes calculation in the near-surface layer (i.e., wavelet analysis method). It finds that there is significant potential for advancement in current calculations of non-stationary turbulent fluxes. The method of introducing known non-stationary information into turbulent data to obtain the “true value of turbulent flux” offers new insights for future research on non-stationary turbulence.