High winds，as a common weather phenomenon of significant influences，can be produced by various meteorological systems and orographic forcing. A comprehensive understanding of its mechanisms and forecast techniques is of great significance for wind disaster defense and wind energy utilization. This paper sorts out the standards of high winds both in weather forecasting service and meteorological observations， and the overall distribution of high winds including the major disastercausing systems such as thunderstorm， typhoon in China. Furthermore， the mechanisms of thunderstorm， typhoon and cold air，as well as the complex orographic thermal and dynamic effects on the formation of local high winds are briefly analyzed. Then， the research progresses in forecast techniques of different synoptic systems that generate high winds are summarized. Finally， the current status of high wind researches and important issues worth further research are discussed.