With the development of space optics, more and more attention is paid to the lightweighting of the optical elements used in space optical systems. Although a membrane mirror has a light weight, its surface is easily deformed due to certain mechanical and thermodynamic factors. Therefore, such a feature can be used to adjust its surface shape so as to meet the required surface precision. If this technology is properly used, it will become one of the implementation strategies of modern optics. The development background, make-up and key techniques of the membrane mirror with an active rigid support are presented in this paper.