Abstract: Because there are more and more theoretical and applied researches of elastic actuators from bionic inspiration in recent years, it is necessary to summarize and analyze the existing research results and to point out the development trends in the future, so as to promote the further developments of the related theories and bionic engineering applications of elastic actuators. Firstly, the origin and significance of the elastic actuators from bionic inspiration are introduced. Based on the research of elastic actuators, four typical elastic actuators, including the series elastic actuator (SEA), the parallel elastic actuator (PEA), the clutchable elastic actuator (CEA) and the multi-configuration elastic actuator (MEA), are introduced from the structures, features and applications aspects. Finally, the key technologies of elastic actuators are analyzed, the conception and prospect for the future development trends are proposed, and several potential future research directions are put forward.