The selective hydrogenation of the benzene ring of phenyl derivatives with complex substituent groups is an atom-economic reaction. It can not only eliminate the potential harm of benzene ring to human health, but also endow the synthesized materials with special functions. In this paper, the research progress of catalysts, operating conditions and reaction properties for selective hydrogenation of benzene rings with retained substituent groups was reviewed, mainly including the catalytic hydrogenation of benzene rings of aromatic diamines, aromatic esters, aromatic methyl carbamate, polystyrene, biphenyls and bisphenol A. In order to retain the substituent group on the reactant, the catalyst used in the above reaction was noble metals such as ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, and platinum. The activity and selectivity of non-precious metal catalysts such as Ni need to be further improved. Therefore, the future research should focus on the development of high performance catalysts with reduced or alternative noble metals.