Soil erosion is extremely dangerous which can restrict the balanced development of society， economy， and environment. Sheet erosion belongs to the first stage of the soil erosion process， and it is the largest and most complex and unique type of erosion in the process of water erosion. Studying the process and mechanism of sheet erosion is of great significance to reveal the mechanism of water erosion and establish regional water erosion models. This article summarizes the current researches of sheet erosion： \mathrm{①} the dynamic process and mechanism of sheet erosion， \mathrm{②} the influences of raindrop kinetic energy， rainfall intensity， slope steepness， vegetation cover， soil type and surface roughness on sheet erosion， \mathrm{③} the detachment-limited process and transport-limited process of sheet erosion and \mathrm{④} sheet erosion prediction models based on different influencing factors， etc. Although scholars have qualitatively and quantitatively studied the response of sheet erosion to different influencing factors， the current researches still have certain regional limitations. Therefore， relevant researches can be further carried out to establish widely applicable sheet erosion prediction models. The results can provide a scientific basis for the comprehensive management of soil erosion and the construction of ecological civilization in China.