The selection of friction reducer (FR) types in the slickwater is critical to reduce friction loss, achieve a high drag reduction rate, and to ensure less formation damage while ensuring the porosity is at a premium. Numbers of research have been done to study the FRs mechanism, thus providing a generally accepted qualitative view of the process. However, despite the extensive use of FRs, the process mechanism brought by the FRs are not fully explored. The paper reviews the FRs mechanism, FRs characteristics, and the advanced research proposing research directions of FRs. Moreover, the proposed methods for the development of FR's standard testing procedure are also discussed. © 2023 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.