As lightweight and high-strength functional-structural integrated materials, cellular structural materials are widely applied in aerospace, automotive manufacturing, and biomedical fields. However, traditional single-configuration cellular materials (e.g., honeycomb structures and point-lattice lattices) gradually exhibit performance limitations under complex conditions such as impact shock waves, multi-directional impacts, or nonlinear deformations. Against this backdrop, heterogeneous cellular structure material (HCSM) have emerged as a research hot pot in impact protection. This paper systematically reviews recent design strategies and impact resistance performance of HCSM. HCSMs are primarily categorized into two types: topological configuration heterogeneity (including complementary and enhanced fusion) and material heterogeneity (e.g., filling with foam materials and shear-thickening materials). Through innovative “functional fusion” approaches, they overcome the performance bottlenecks of single-configuration cellular materials. The study further elucidates the synergistic reinforcement effects and deformation mechanisms of HCSM under impact loads, while analyzing their intrinsic mechanisms for improving energy absorption efficiency, stiffness, and stability. Despite significant progress in HCSM research, challenges remain in connectivity optimization, additive manufacturing process compatibility, complex condition validation, and multifunctional integration. Going forward, the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies holds promise for achieving end-to-end optimization of HCSMs from design to manufacturing, thereby providing new directions for developing next-generation high-performance impact-resistant structural materials.