Global warming is an important environmental issue. There is a significant seasonal difference in global temperature rise, with a significant warming trend in winter than in summer. In the future climate change scenario, winter warming has an important impact on the ecosystem carbon and nitrogen cycle, which is more pronounced at high latitude and high altitudes regions. Warming in winter will directly affect the thickness of snow cover and frozen layer, and cause the increase of the freezing and thawing events. At this time, plant roots largely inactive, coupled with an increased frequency of soil freeze-thaw cycles, may increase soil nitrogen leaching losses and decrease soil available nitrogen content. These changes may have pronounced impacts on plant activities and soil carbon and nitrogen cycling processes in the subsequent growing season. However, there are still many uncertainties about the effects of winter warming on plant activities in the subsequent growing season and the effects on soil carbon and nitrogen cycles. This paper reviewed the effects of winter warming on snow cover changes and freeze-thaw cycles on the material cycling of alpine ecosystems, and the effects of winter warming on soil carbon and nitrogen cycles, microbes and enzyme activities, as well as on plant phenology and communities. In addition, we also summarized the subsequent effects of winter warming on the physiological and ecological processes such as community structure, production and nutrient cycling, and litter decomposition. Finally, we proposed some prospects for conducting winter warming experiment research in future climate change conditions. In future, appropriate warming methods should be selected for different ecosystem characteristics, and research on winter warming in non-polar tundra areas should be strengthened. In addition, the effects of winter warming on plant-soil microbial feedback should be focused on, especially the lag effect on the alpine ecosystems.