Explosive welding is an efficient, economical and practical technique that uses explosives as energy to achieve solid-state connection of the same or dissimilar materials. Because it can achieve large-area welding and combination of dissimilar materials, it is widely used in the preparation of layered metal composites. In order to explain the research development of explosive welding of dissimilar metal materials, the related concepts and basic principles of explosive welding are reviewed. Through the introduction of welding window theory, it is pointed out that choosing explosion welding parameters in the welding window surrounded by four boundaries can obtain relatively high-quality corrugation. Based on the research status at home and abroad, explosive welding interface is discussed in detail from three aspects: the structure and mechanical properties of the explosive welding interface, the influence of heat treatment on the interface structure, and the influencing factors of the bonding interface. Studies have found that defects such as cracks, adiabatic shear bands, and intermetallic compounds often appear at the interface junctions, which can be improved by heat treatment, use of intermediate layers, and gas shielded explosive welding. However, the formation mechanism and control methods still need further in-depth research. In addition, the current numerical simulation is mainly based on the SPH method. After comparative analysis, this method can effectively simulate the bonding interface and jet flow, but it also has the disadvantage of a single simulation process, and the formation mechanism of the interface wave is still unclear. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a scientific and perfect interface wave formation mechanism and a systematic and comprehensive numerical simulation process. With the continuous emergence of new materials, explosive welding technique will continue to play an important role in more fields.