With the rapid development of graphene industry, graphene oxide has attracted much attention as an important intermediate product for the preparation of graphene. Due to its excellent physical and chemical properties, it has been widely used in multitudinous fields. Various structural models, preparation methods, properties and related applications, as well as the reduction of graphene oxide are summarized. The choice of oxidants and reduction agents were found to be important in the reaction. The basic selective principles are discussed after comparing various methods. Finally, it is pointed out that there are still some problems to be solved in the preparation and reduction of graphene oxide. The prospect of graphene oxide on its development and influence will also be evaluated.