Aluminum powder is the most used metal fuel in explosives industry. The nano aluminum powder has a much higher specific surface area, reaction reactivity and completeness compared with the micron aluminum powder. Therefore, the application of nano aluminum powder in explosives will undoubtedly improve the explosive power and the ammunition damage efficiency. This article has systematically reviewed the effects of nano aluminum powder on the detonation performance, safety performance, process performance and other explosive properties. As for the detonation performance, the nano aluminum powder can improve almost all detonation parameters of the mixed explosive, including the detonation velocity and heat, the peak value of shock wave overpressure of air explosion, the total energy of underwater explosion, the peak value of explosion pressure and the rise rate of explosion pressure of the fuel-air explosives, the metal acceleration ability, arson ability, work ability, and brisance, et al. However, some incorrect conclusions are often drawn by some researchers due to the low effective aluminum contents of the nano aluminum powder. In terms of safety performance, the introduction of nano aluminum powder increases the impact sensitivity, friction sensitivity, shock wave sensitivity and thermal sensitivity of mixed explosives, which significantly reduces the ignition energy of explosives and promotes the thermal decomposition of common explosives (such as TNT, RDX, HMX, CL-20, NG, etc.). Therefore, the introduction of nano explosives has a negative influence on the safety performance of mixed explosives. In terms of process performance, the nano aluminum powder increases the viscosity of the cast explosive system. However, it reduces the density of the explosive column in the pressed explosive system. Therefore, the introduction of nano-aluminum explosive deteriorates the process performance of the mixed explosive. It is pointed out that it is easy to oxidize in various stages from preparation to storage due to the large specific surface area and high reaction activity of nano aluminum powder, which results in a sharp decrease in the effective aluminum content of nano aluminum powder. This is an important reason why some researchers get wrong conclusions. Therefore, it is necessary to study the preparation methods and storage conditions to make full use of nano aluminum powder in explosives.