Abstract: The preparation of different types of poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA) membrane and various techniques of PVA membrane modification were described.Pervaporation(PV) performances of PVA membrane for separating organic/water and organic/organic mixtures were given.The effects of the cross-linking agent,the specifications of support membrane,the polymer network structure as well as blending PVA membrane and carriers in fixed-site carrier PVA membrane on PV separation performances were emphatically discussed.Three development trends on PVA membrane and its application in the future are proposed on the basis of the research.