In view of the increasing global climate change and extreme weather events, the impact of marine thunderstorms on navigation and offshore operations is becoming more and more serious. However, due to the lack of understanding of the characteristics and mechanisms of marine thunderstorms by forecasters, as well as the scarcity of marine observation data, it is difficult to track and forecast marine thunderstorms. In response to the above problems, this article comprehensively summarizes the latest progress in the field of marine thunderstorm research at home and abroad from the perspective of meteorological forecasters, covering marine thunderstorm monitoring methods and technologies, activity characteristics, and formation mechanisms. It aims to sort out and discuss the current status, development trends, and key issues of global marine thunderstorm research. Based on the review, the future research direction of marine thunderstorms in China is discussed, including strengthening the construction of marine observation systems, building marine thunderstorm data sets, deepening the study of the formation mechanisms of marine thunderstorms, and strengthening the application of artificial intelligence to build accurate prediction models. This article aims to provide meteorological forecasters with research results on marine thunderstorms, in order to better serve the safety of navigation and offshore operations, and reduce the adverse effects of marine thunderstorms.