Abstract: Along with the large consumption of fossil energy, the human living environment is seriously threatened. Among them, the proportion of building energy consumption in the total energy consumption continues to rise, and the passive cooling technology that effectively manages the heat transfer of buildings has become a focus of attention. Radiative cooling technology can reflect sunlight and radiate heat to outer space through the "atmospheric window" to spontaneously cool the surface of objects. Because it can realize radiative cooling without consuming any energy, it has been widely concerned by researchers at home and abroad. In recent years, the application of radiative cooling technology in the field of construction has developed rapidly. The main problems are complex preparation process, high production cost and easy to be affected by external environment. Based on the principle of radiative cooling, this paper summarizes the relevant researches of radiative cooling materials in buildings in recent years, focuses on the preparation process of radiative cooling materials and the main factors affecting the performance of radiative cooling materials, and further elaborates the application of radiative cooling materials in buildings according to the classification of energy saving of active buildings and energy saving of passive buildings. Finally, the existing problems and the future research direction are summarized and prospected. It is pointed out that future research should focus on exploring the simple process of radiation cooling materials that can be prepared in large quantities, developing low-cost and multi-functional integrated application products, and establishing specific standards and regulations.