At present，extensive research was conducted to prevent bacterial transmissionand microbial film formation by killing or reducing microorganisms attached to the coatingsurface. However，a lot of previously reported coatings focused on their antibacterial properties，but little attention had been paid to antiviral coatings. In this paper，the characteristic differences between bacteria and virus were briefly introduced. The article reviewed the current development status of antiviral technology for coatings in China，and briefly analyzed features and mechanism of three common kinds of antiviral materials，such as natural，inorganic and organic materials. Then，an outlook of the future development of antiviral coatings in China was made.