Abstract: Gully erosion is a worldwide environmental issue with urgency, generality and complexity, which is a most concerned phenomenon and has been recognized as a major land degradation process with most serious landform performances.The initiation and developmental processes of gully erosion have significant influences on contemporary topographical development and evolution.This paper reviews the brief history of gully erosion research, and introduces the diversity and classification differences of gully erosion worldwide.The advances in processes, influencing factors and critical conditions of gully erosion are summarized.Ten aspects of research avenues to be addressed in the future are prospected and highlighted.