ObjectiveTo summarize the priority and indications of the unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) and the evolution of minimally invasive surgery-UKA (MIS-UKA), and to discuss the effectiveness. MethodsThe related literature on UKA was extensively reviewed, summarized, and analyzed. ResultsRecently, satisfactory results has been achieved in UKA for the treatment of single room knee osteoarthritis. Both the design of the single condyle prosthesis and the surgical technique are becoming more advanced, which make the MIS-UKA possible. Especially the application of navigation computer and robot assisted system on UKA improves the accuracy of unicompartmental prosthesis implantation greatly. ConclusionThe superiority and indications of MIS-UKA are gradually expanding with the progress of surgical technique and the design of the single condyle prosthesis. However, whether the application of navigation computer and robot assisted system can improve the effectiveness needs to be further confirmed.