Nitrogen-rich energetic compounds have attracted a great attention due to the high nitrogen content， high energy density， good thermal stability， low sensitivity， and environmental friendliness. Among the stable azoles， tetrazole has the highest nitrogen content and energy level. Introducing diverse energetic rings or substituent groups into the tetrazole backbone offers a promising strategy for designing nitrogen-rich energetic materials with outstanding energetic performance and appropriate sensitivity. This review systematically summarizes the synthetic methods of nearly 200 tetrazole-based nitrogen-rich energetic compounds， categorizes these compounds based on the number of rings and connection modes， and highlights the physicochemical and detonation properties of representative energetic compounds. Finally， the future developments for these materials are prospected： creating tetrazole-based energetic compounds with new structures， promoting the engineering process of materials with promising applications， and conducting research on the application of compound 52（TKX-50）.