The specific predatory bacteria Bdellovibrio and like organisms （BALOs） are been highly valued due to their potential applications in agriculture， industry and medicine， especially in treating the infections caused by pathogenic bacteria with antibiotic resistance. However， many fundamental scientific issues regarding BALOs have been unclear in the past decades， which is the bottom cause why these types of bacteria have not been effectively developed and utilized yet. In recent years， significant progress has been made in the life cycle， mechanisms of predation， the distribution of resource and the diversity of BALOs， and the applications of BALOs in medicine， agriculture， and industry. Especially since the formal establishment of the phylum Bdellovibrionota in 2021， there has been an explosive growth in studies related to BALOs. This article systematically reviewed the progress on studying BALOs. It was focused on introducing the latest reports on predatory mechanisms of BALOs and other outstanding achievements to promote the understanding and further application of BALOs resources， and to guide the studies on BALOs in the future.