Abstract: The summer precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau (SPTP) is a key topic in Tibetan Plateau meteorology research. Under the influence of the synoptic systems on different levels and multi-scale topographic effect of the plateau in summer, SPTP features complicated and varying spatio-temporal distribution characteristics. This paper reviews the research progress on SPTP characteristics and the mechanisms causing SPTP. The review is organized into 3 aspects: 1) the spatio-temporal distribution and variation characteristics of SPTP. 2) the synoptic systems that affect SPTP, including the South Asia high, the 500 hPa high over the plateau, the plateau shearline, the plateau vortex and the mesoscale convective systems over the plateau. 3) the topographic forcing of the plateau, including the large-scale dynamic forcing and thermal forcing, as well as the mesoscale topographic forcing. Lastly, a summary of the past research progress and an outlook of future research are given.