[Objective] To systematically summarize the research progress on gravitational erosion on the Loess Plateau and propose key scientific issues and research directions that need to be addressed in the future, with the aim of providing references for the construction of watershed gravitational erosion process models and precise management of the Loess Plateau. [Methods] Based on previous research, this paper reviewed the observation and identification methods of gravitational erosion, dynamics and stochastic processes, simulation of sediment production and transport processes, and construction of watershed gravitational erosion models, with a particular emphasis on the application of airborne LiDAR technology, slope instability models based on soil mechanics, and simplified models of gravitational erosion. It also highlighted existing issues in current research, such as the limited functionality of observation methods, the lack of consideration for the stochastic nature of gravitational erosion, and the absence of simulation methods for gravitational erosion-sediment yield and transport processes. [Results] At present, progress has been made both domestically and internationally in the observation and identification of single processes of gravitational erosion, as well as in the assessment of its causes and empirical evaluation. However, high-precision observation and identification of the entire processes of gravitational erosion, along with the dynamic mechanisms of its occurrence and development, as well as process simulation, remain prominent weak points. [Conclusion] The review proposes several key scientific issues that need to be addressed in the future, including research directions such as the observation and identification of the entire processes of gravitational erosion（’development-initiation-transport-accumulation’）, the dynamic-stochastic coupling mechanisms, and the simulation of gravitational erosion-sediment production and transport processes in multi-level gullies.