Alkyd resin is widely used in the fields of paints, coatings, adhesives and ships. However, most of the alkyd resin uses organic solvent as dispersion medium, which causes serious pollution to the environment. Hence, the preparation of the water-based alkyd resin is imminent. Based on this, the preparation method and synthesis principle of the water-based alkyd resin were reviewed in this paper. Subsequently, the influence of raw materials, oil degree, alcohol-acid ratio and acid value on the performance of the water-based alkyd resin was summarized and the reason for them was analyzed, combined with the development of the water-based alkyd resin in recent years. Finally, the future development trend of the water-based alkyd resin was prospected.