Because of the safety and environmental problems caused by traditional food packaging， researchers have been actively exploring edible film. Gelatin was a protein-derived edible film material， it had good film-forming properties， biocompatibility and commercial availability， which make gelatin an ideal biomaterial for food packaging applications. However， the disadvantages of gelatin film were low biological activity， poor ductility and water resistance. To overcome these shortcomings， the method of physical， chemical and biological were carried out to obtain better properties of antioxidant activity， antimicrobial activity， extensibility and water resisitance， the modified film were widely used in meat preservation， vegetable preservation and fruit preservation. This article introduced the development， source and classification of edible film， then detailed the modification method， modification effects and the modification mechanism of gelatin film， and the new modification technology， new determination method were discussed. This article can provide reference and research ideas for the basic research and applied research of gelatin film.