Abstract: Nonlinear analysis is an effective means to explore the disaster mechanism and weak parts of structures under extreme environmental loads, and to predict the ultimate bearing capacity of structures. It has become indispensable in structural design and performance evaluation. Thus, efficient, stable and accurate nonlinear analysis theory and solution technology have always been a research hotspot in the field of civil engineering structural analysis. The basic development process of structural nonlinear analysis is briefly reviewed, and the basic principles and research progress of commonly used nonlinear finite element analysis methods are summarized emphatically. Focusing on civil engineering structures, some key issues and relevant research progress in structural nonlinear analysis are summarized in terms of calculation accuracy, stability and efficiency, including efficient nonlinear analysis method-inelasticity separated method, and the latest research progress of this method is reviewed.