Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is an important global health problem. There is lack of specific treatment methods in clinical practice. Active prevention by vaccination or passive prevention by using antibody preparations are important measures to avoid severe infections and reduce deaths. Different RSV vaccines need to be developed for different populations. There are four main types of RSV vaccines under development. Live attenuated vaccines may be most suitable for infants. Subunit vaccines have the risk of causing enhanced respiratory diseases and are not suitable for infants with negative RSV serum vaccination, but they are mainly suitable for the elderly and pregnant women. Ensuring safety and immunogenicity is an important issue that needs to be solved in the development of RSV vaccines. Although there are many challenges in the development of RSV vaccines, more than 30 RSV vaccines have entered the clinical research stage, showing potential for application. Among them, the F nanoparticle vaccine has taken the lead in entering phase III clinical trials, but it has not achieved the expected effect in the elderly and pregnant women. Before the RSV epidemic season, using specific antibody is also an effective means to prevent severe infection in high-risk groups. The long-acting monoclonal antibody MEDI8897, which is more cost-effective than palivizumab, has entered phase III clinical trials, and has got priority R&D qualification. Polyclonal immunoglobulin RI-002 has shown good preventive effects in immunodeficiency populations, and has practical significance for further research.