Cryopreservation is considered to be a valuable solution for long-term storage of plant germplasm especially for woody plant species．In this article, we summarized the application of cryopreservation in woody plant species, the damage and ultrastructural changes of freezing cell and the development of various cryopreservation techniques and their advantages and disadvantages. We pointed out that the spectrum, repeatability and maneuverability of cryopreservation plus high investment and low output of this technique were main problems existed at present. To solve these problems, various suggestions were put forward, such as expanding the woody plant resources for cryopreservation, developing cryopreservation techniques according to plant species, choosing the right conservation materials and methods based on the purpose of preservation, giving priority to development of preservation techniques for economic species and raising investment for developing new cryopreservation methods. .