The research of dark matter is one of the most fundamental and challenging topics in the frontier of modern physics, which is significant to the development of cosmology and particle physics. The direct detection experiment of dark matter is one of methods to the research of dark matter, which is thought to be the most compromising. This paper represents: the dark matter detection methods, especially emphasizing on the principle of the direct detection; the main underground laboratories in the world; the typical direct detection experiments aiming at light and heavy dark matter respectively; the prospects of the next generation of dark matter direct detection experiments.

light dark matter  /  heavy dark matter  /  direct detection  /  underground laboratory