Vortexes, which commonly arise at hydraulic intakes, have an adverse effect on the safety operation of the afflicted project. Understanding the generation mechanism and characteristics of vortexes is the key issue associating with the elimination and the utilization of vortexes. Thus, based on the existing research results, we discussed the research status of vortexes from the following aspects, including the generation mechanism, the hydraulic characteristics and the influencing factors. It is clarified that the critical submergence is the discrimination marker of the occurrence of vortexes. Meanwhile, the elimination methods of vortexes were analyzed and summarized. Furthermore, some imminent problems that have not been solved were put forward, which pointed out the direction for the further research of intake vortexes of praetical projects.