Nickel-rich ternary layered transition metal oxide anode materials have attracted extensive attention because of their high specific capacity, low price and environmental friendliness. However, its further application was hindered by its structural instability, fast capacity degradation in high temperature during the cycling. This is caused by Li/Ni mixing, phase transition reaction, gas generation, microcrack, transition metal dissolution and surface structure change. Focusing on the optimization research of nickel-rich ternary layered transition metal oxide cathode materials, the optimization methods including synthesis of surface coating materials, preparation of element-doped materials, preparation of core-shell structural materials, and synthesis of concentration gradient materials. The future development is prospected. The optimization of the cathode material provides a direction for the development of high energy density lithium-ion batteries