With the development of artificial intelligence,the unmanned surface vehicles can replace manual operations for dangerous tasks,and object detection is the core technology for autonomous detection. The deep learning technology could overcome the limitations of low accuracy and poor versatility of manual features,and has become the mainstream method of image processing. Firstly,this paper has comprehensively summarized the current development status of deep learning-based object detection algorithms,defined the classification of algorithms in detail,and pointed out the advantages,disadvantages and applicable scenarios of different types of algorithms. Then, the research status of unmanned surface vehicle object detection technology is analyzed,and the contributions, advantages and limitations of various types of deep learning are pointed out. Finally,the key scientific problems that need to be solved urgently in deep learning object detection algorithm for unmanned surface vehicle are summarized. Meanwhile,the feasible solutions and the future development of this application research field are further prospected.