Abstract: The clinical diagnosis and efficacy evaluation of cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients by cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) has become a research hotspot in the field of cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Based on the advantages of CPET diagnosis and efficacy evaluation, this paper summarized the advantages and characteristics of core indexes such as peak oxygen consumption, anaerobic threshold, heart rate reserve, oxygen pulse, metabolic equivalent, carbon dioxide ventilation slope and oxygen uptake efficiency slope. Through CPET-related randomized controlled clinical trials, we evaluated the role of CPET in the formulation and adjustment of cardiac rehabilitation prescription and in the evaluation of cardiac rehabilitation efficacy in CVD patients. The results of our study will provide some basis and reference for clinical application of CPET in cardiac rehabilitation of CVD patients.