C—H activation reaction, as an important means of modern molecular splicing, has the advantages of high atom economy and simple synthesis route. Therefore, the derivatization of nonplanar aromatics through C—H activation has gradually become one of the hottest topics in molecular science. The C—H activation reactions for nonplanar aromatics, such as cyclophane, helicenes, corannulene, sumanene and fullerene in recent years are systematically summarized. And the research directions in the future is prospected in order to obtain more excellent nonplanar carbon-based materials.