Glycidyl azide polymer （GAP） has been considered as excellent energetic binder or plasticizer in high energetic solid propellants because of its high heat of combustion， low burning temperature， good thermal stability， clear exhaust and good compatibility with oxidizers. However， the presence of bulky， polar azide side group and reduced backbone flexibility， causing poor mechanical properties， especially the inferior low-temperature mechanical properties. Owing to chemical modification could better regulate the performance of GAP， it has attracted extensive attention. This paper illustrates the synthetic methods and processes of GAP， such as direct and indirect methods； summarizes various chemical modification methods of GAP and clarifies the relationship between the structures and properties of the GAP-based copolymers. At last， the future development of controllable， facile and green synthesis strategies for high molecular weight GAP， performance research methods and application prospects in high energy thermoplastic elastomers are described and discussed.