Abstract: Waxy corn is a grain with high nutritional value, and it is a unique variety formed by mutation of normal corn during natural growth. The content of amylopectin in waxy corn starch is more than 95%. Natural waxy corn starch has great application potential due to its advantageous properties such as high peak viscosity, high swelling power, anti-aging, high transparency and easy digestion. However, the application of waxy corn starch in food is very limited. Therefore, it has become the development trend of waxy corn to expand the application of waxy corn starch in food based on the physicochemical properties of waxy corn starch. Based on this, the origin of waxy corn, the synthesis mechanism of waxy corn starch and its high-quality characteristics were reviewed in this paper. The research on the application of waxy corn starch in flour products, fat substitutes, emulsions, thickeners and microcapsule materials in recent years was summarized. In addition, the future development direction and application fields of waxy corn starch were also discussed, which laid a theoretical foundation for the innovative development and industrial upgrading of waxy corn starch.