Abstract: The Yarlung Zangbo River is the largest river in Tibetan Platau. During the second synergistic investigation of science for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateaus,analysis of the precipitation variation over the Yarlung Zangbo River basin is helpful for understanding the hydrological cycle and water resource evolution in the alpine region,which has an important significance for the rational development and utilization of water resources in this region. This study reviews and sumerizes the latest achievements in the research of the precipitation variation over the Yarlung Zangbo River basin,including the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of precipitation,the vertical variation of water vapor density,the characteristics of water vapor channels,and the trend of precipitation change and future projection under global climate warming. The review of the above researches aims at obtaining deep understanding of the precipitation variation over the Yarlung Zangbo River basin and shtrengthening the study of it in this basin. At the same time,some problems in the current research on the precipitation variation over the Yarlung Zangbo River basin are pointed out,such as the sparsity of stations,observation difficulties and data shortage as caused by the complex terrain,which should be paid more attention in future scientific investigation.