Abstract: Carbon dots (CDs) have advantages such as low toxicity, water tolerance, good biocompatibility, easy modification, excellent electrochemical activity, and optical properties. CDs can be used for the modification of polymer materials, endowing them with good optical properties and various other functionalities. Adding CDs to polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) not only effectively improves the mechanical properties and thermal stability of PVA, but also endows PVA with new properties, such as improved conductivity, dielectric properties, thermoelectric properties, and other electrical parameters, optical properties such as fluorescence, phosphorescence, and UV resistance, antibacterial, antioxidant, and water resistance, which make PVA stand out in the fields of electromagnetic shielding, storage devices, capacitors, sensors, optical devices and functional packaging bags. This article focuses on the latest research progress in the properties of PVA modified with CDs (CDs/PVA), and prospects the future application of CDs/PVA, which is of great significance for expanding its application fields.