The measurement of magnetic fields plays an important role in scientific research and human life. For example, geomagnetic variations can be used in earthquake prediction, and the changes in heart and brain magnetic field distributions contribute to the diagnosis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Characterized by high precision, several kinds of atomic magnetometers with different principles have been developed, and their performance keeps improving. This paper mainly discusses the key technologies, research progress, existing gap and development suggestions concerning atomic magnetometers. Future research of atomic magnetometers for aerospace should focus on accuracy and sensitivity improvements, miniaturization, calibration and tensor measurement to promote the advancement in magnetic field measurement and application in China.