Abstract: Rapid development of the global economy has brought about crazy consumption of resources. Nowadays, more and more voices advocate green and sustainable development of resources, and triboelectric nanogenerators have been discovered and researched by more people. Through exploration and research on the structure of the triboelectric nanogenerator, the surface microstructure of the friction layer and the triboelectric materials, many high-performance triboelectric nanogenerator devices have been designed and manufactured. These high-performance triboelectric nanogenerators have been widely used in self-powered sensors, bionic applications, and soft robot drive and sensing. This work introduced the power generation mode of triboelectric nanogenerators, listed some researches on materials used to improve the performance of triboelectric nanogenerators, and summarized some researches on the application of triboelectric nanogenerators on bionics and soft robots. Finally, prospect of triboelectric nanogenerators are proposed that hope to provide more ideas for the application of triboelectric nanogenerators in the future.