Energetic materials are of great strategic value in both national defense and civil application. The thermal decomposition characteristics are one of the most important characteristics directly related to the effective application of energetic materials. It is of great significance to clarify the thermal decomposition behavior and mechanism of energetic materials for further improving the thermal decomposition efficiency and inhibiting their unstable decomposition. Three typical energetic materials， cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine （HMX）， hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane （CL-20） and 3，4-dinitrofurazanofuroxan （DNTF）， were studied. The basic physical and chemical properties related to the thermal decomposition characteristics were present， and the thermal decomposition behavior and mechanism were summarized， with emphasis on the structural characteristics of materials and the types of additives that influence the thermal decomposition. It is found that the removal of nitro group is the key step in the thermal decomposition， and the metallic materials rich in active sites and organic complexes with abundant active groups tend to interact with nitro groups to accelerate the thermal decomposition process. Inorganic non-metallic materials can also contribute to the decomposition behavior due to the large specific surface area and excellent gas diffusion ability. Three methods， including eutectic， coating and adding desensitizing agent， are widely used to improve the thermal stability of these three energetic materials. Based on the research of the thermal decomposition mechanism， the design and development of thermal decomposition accelerators and inhibitors can be carried out， which will effectively promote the innovative development of thermal application of energetic materials and become the focus of future research on the thermal decomposition characteristics of energetic materials.