Yellow fever (YF) is an acute hemorrhagic infectious disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, and is endemic mainly in tropical regions such as West Africa and South America. The clinical manifestations of YF include high fever, nausea, vomiting, jaundice, hemorrhage, etc. The etiological pathogen of YF is yellow fever virus (YFV), which is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus and belongs to the flavivirus genus of Flaviviridae family. At present, there is no specific antiviral drug for YF, and the general treatment is mainly based on symptomatic and supportive care. Vaccination of an live attenuated yellow fever vaccine (YF-17D) is the most effective way of prevention. Although, YF-17D vaccine has been widely applied and recognized globally, some adverse reactions have been reported occasionally. This review summarizes the epidemic situation, vaccine research progress and application of YFV in current years.