With the implementation of more stringent regulationson automobile energy consumption，low energy consumption has become an inevitable trend in the development of automobile industry.Automobile lightweight as the key technology to achieve this goal has attracted attention of auto enterprises.And the application of lightweight materials is the most direct and effective means to achieve vehicle weight reduction.So the magnesium aluminum alloy，high strength steel carbon fiber composite materials etc.has been widely used in automotive design process as the lightweight materials.However，with the launching of more stringent requirements on the anti-crash performance of vehicle bodies at the crash conditions in different regulations and C-NCAP standard，the research on the mechanical properties of the corresponding vehicle materials has also put forward more strict requirements.This paper is divided into six parts.They introduced the new characteristics of vehicle lightweight composite materials and the test situation and evaluation methods of lightweight materials both in home and abroad.It also expounded the opportunities and challenges faced by China in the development of automotive lightweight materials and application technology and described the future development trend of automotive lightweight materials.In the conclusion，it pointed out that during the process of achieving the lightweight，no one material can dominate the situation.Each material has its own performance and is suitable for different ways.