After more than 30 years of development, laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has gradually replaced open cholecystectomy (OC) and become the gold standard therapeutic option for the treatment of symptomatic cholecystolithiasis. However, the LC-associated complications, especially bile duct injury (BDI), have generated widespread concern due to the severity of their consequences. Here, the authors address the research progress of BDI in terms of etiology, diagnosis, classification, treatment and prognosis, in order to elaborate the evolutionary characteristics of BDI, with an emphasis on the development of surgical procedures for helping in clinical practice, and establishment of the standardized diagnosis and treatment of BDI.