Magnesium alloys are known as green engineering materials in the 21st century

which is widely used in automotive

aerospace and 3C（Computer

Communication

Consumer Electronic）fields.As a common grain morphology during metal solidification

the dendrite morphology of magnesium alloy has an important effect on the final mechanical properties of castings.The research progress and development status on experimental characterization and simulation of dendrite growth of magnesium alloy with a hexagonal close-packed（HCP）crystal structure were reviewed.Dendrite morphology and preferred growth orientations of magnesium alloy in two and three dimensions were introduced based on the existing experimental results.According to the recent analog simulation in which the dendrite growth model was established by coupling the solute

temperature

flow and pressure fields

the influence of process conditions during solidification on the dendrite growth morphology of magnesium alloy was analyzed.Finally

the shortcomings existing in the current research on experimental characterization and simulation of dendrite growth of magnesium alloy and prospective development directions were pointed out.