Abstract—Since the European Investment Bank (EIB) successfully issued the world’s first “climate-conscious bond” in 2007, countries worldwide have embarked on the process of issuing green bonds. Many scholars have conducted a series of studies on green bonds and have made important progress. However, few previous studies have systematically analysed the progress of the research on green bonds. Therefore, we first comb through the definitions and connotations of green bonds. Then, we summarise the characteristics of green bonds and their issuance status worldwide and clarify their internal and external drivers. Next, we describe the impacts generated by green bonds, both positive and negative. Finally, we address the current problems in green bond issuances and the problems of previous studies and provide an outlook for the future, pointing out the direction for the progress and development of green bond research.