Biodiversity conservation corridors can prevent ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss, improve ecosystem services, eliminate the effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity, and restore populations of rare and endangered species, which is fundamental in maintaining the balance and stability of natural ecosystems. Based on the related research and analysis of biodiversity protection corridors locally and abroad from the past 20 years (1997-2017), the definition, theory, and design methods of the corridors have been systematically summarized and discussed. The development and applicability of several existing corridor design theories were compared and analyzed and 17 different corridor design models have been classified and summarized. Research and analysis showed that corridors, as a new model of biodiversity conservation, have become an important topic in international ecological research. With the help of remote sensing and geographic information technology, large-scale, high-accuracy access to corridor simulation data, and the integration of models to construct corridors for target species, protection and management are the directions for the future development of biodiversity conservation corridors.