The fault mechanism of power transformer is complicated and the maintenance cost is high

which has obvious negative influence on the safe and stable operation of the power system. Under the condition of complete data

obtaining the health indicators of power transformer operation

the proper condition maintenance or preventive maintenance for it can reduce the probability of failure

Moreover

it not only can reduce the maintenance cost of the power transformer

but also have a significant positive effect on the safe and stable operation of the power system. But the current research mostly focuses on the transformer health management in one aspect or a certain stage

the research results are isolated. Firstly

this paper sorts out the main problems existing in the research of power transformer

and gives the solution based on prognostics and health management(PHM). Then

the power transformer health management cycle is defined according to the PHM system

and the research results of health monitoring

fault diagnosis and prediction for power transformer at home and abroad are systematically analyzed. Finally

the future development trend of large power transformer PHM is discussed and prospected.