The rapid development of trains in the direction of high speed and heavy load has significantly aggravated the damage between the wheel and rail contact interface.The friction management at the wheel-rail contact interface can effectively reduce the wear between the wheel and the rail,significantly improve the safety of train operation and reduce operating costs.The research status of friction management of wheel-rail contact interface was reviewed,and the research progress of the influence of wheel-rail interface friction control on wheel-rail contact force,adhesion,wear,rolling contact fatigue(RCF),vibration and noise was introduced.The future research directions of wheel-rail contact friction management were expected,that is,reasonable friction control materials should be developed to overcome the problems of wheel/rail damage and use limitations in the process of friction management according to different application environments and contact parts.The friction control methods of wheel tread/top-of-rail surface and wheel flange/gauge surface should be explored,the spraying amount of friction materials should be strictly controlled so that the two contact surfaces do not interfere with each other,and the best application parameters for improving the friction management of wheel rail contact interface should be optimized.Environment-friendly wheel flange/gauge surface lubricants and wheel tread/top-of-rail surface friction modifier should be developed to stably regulate the adhesion characteristics of the wheel-rail contact interface.