The work aims to summarize the development status of barrier-free design in China and abroad, sort out the relevant methods and theoretical models of barrier-free design in China and abroad, discuss the development trend of barrier-free design methods in the future, and provide design methods and development trends for researchers. Based on the research of relevant literature in China and abroad, the concept and development status of barrier-free design were sorted out and the main methods and theoretical models in the current barrier-free design were summarized, including adaptive design, participatory design, design based on sensory information, emotional design, and design based on QFD theory and TRIZ theory. At present, the user participation of barrier-free design methods is low, so it is difficult to meet the different needs of users, and there is a lack of specific and targeted complete theoretical systems and design methods. In the future, various design concepts and methods such as experience and interaction can be combined to explore innovative barrier-free design methods, so as to better design barrier-free products that can help disabled groups to live more conveniently from the needs of users.