Abstract: By comparing the characteristics of the frozen soil and the unfrozen soil, it is shown that the strength of the frozen soil is much stronger than that of the unfrozen soil, which increases the difficulty of the frozen soil excavation, as an issue in front of engineering operations in cold regions. There are several methods for the frozen soil excavation and the practicability and the feasibility of the methods are reviewed in this paper. It is shown that the mechanical method used to excavate the frozen soil is extremely effective. Secondly, the difficulty of the frozen soil excavation is related to the physic-mechanical properties of the frozen soil. In the process of excavation, the fracture mechanics and the damage mechanics of the frozen soil are more involved. This paper gives a brief overview of the dynamics of the permafrost to indicate the main factors that affect the mechanical properties of the frozen soil and the features of the damaged frozen soil, to help the permafrost mechanical excavation. A review of the previous experimental researches aims to help the studies of the permafrost cutting and impact performance, and a few suggestions are made for the further study of the frozen soil excavation.