Objective To summarize the research progress of the artificial wrist joint prosthesis. Methods Domestic and abroad literature concerning artificial wrist joint prosthesis was reviewed and analyzed thoroughly. Results Artificial wrist joint prosthesis has been developed to the 4th generation. The artificial wrist joint arthroplasty has advantages of pain relief and functional improvement and can achieve ideal short-term effectiveness. But there are some problems, such as loosening, subsidence, fracture, and dislocation of prosthesis. The long-term effectiveness of the 3rd and 4th generation prosthesis still need to be followed up. Conclusion The biomechanics of wrist joint is extremely complicated, which results in less application and slow development of artificial wrist joint prosthesis. Early-term effectiveness of artificial wrist joint arthroplasty is basically satisfactory, but there are still some long-term complications. So the artificial wrist joint prosthesis remains to be developed.