Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is the most common type of pulmonary embolism. It refers to a series of clinical manifestations caused by obstruction of pulmonary artery or its branches after the detachment of vein or right heart thrombus. When the obstruction reaches a certain extent, it causes respiratory and circulatory system disorders, such as cardiopulmonary function, hemodynamics and so on. In the past, PTE was easily misdiagnosed and missed due to the backwardness of diagnosis and treatment technology and the poor knowledge of clinicians about PTE, especially neglected by young doctors lacking clinical experience, which was once considered a rare disease. In recent years, a large number of evidence-based medical evidence shows that PTE has become a common disease in China. PTE has the characteristics of high morbidity, high recurrence rate, high disability rate, high mortality rate and high economic burden of disease. It has become a major health problem and one of the clinical emergencies that seriously threaten the health of the public. It has been reported that PTE is a common cause of death following coronary heart disease and stroke. With the innovative development of diagnosis and treatment technology and the continuous exploration of clinical workers, whether it is the understanding of the risk factors of inducing PTE, or the choice of clinical diagnostic thinking or treatment options of PTE, it shows that modern medical practitioners have a deeper understanding of PTE. However, there are still some problems in the diagnosis and treatment of PTE, especially in the treatment of middle-risk PTE patients, there is no unified and standardized diagnosis and treatment program. This review summarizes the progress of diagnosis and treatment of PTE.