Abstract: The forest canopy is regarded as one of the last mysterious areas on earth because of its special position.It plays an important role in the forest ecosystems.However,it is difficulty to access to high forest canopy,which to some extent restricted the studies of epiphytes diversity in forest canopy.Several exciting and innovative canopy access tools have been designed over the past few decades and have enriched our understanding of canopy.Therefore,the research of canopy in tropical and temperate areas has developed rapidly.The diversity of epiphytes,biomass and ecosystem-level function have received more attention in the world.In the present paper,the main investigating methods of canopy research are summarized.Meanwhile,based on our own observations,the application advantage and disadvantage of each method,and newly progress in this field were discussed