With the positive and orderly promotion of hydropower development in China，the large-scale cascade hydropower configuration is forming generally，which makes new demands on and challenges to the actual operation of reservoirs and hydropower stations.This paper summarizes the development of the deterministic optimal operation theory and two stochastic optimization theories.After describing the principle of implicit stochastic operation，a summary on current operation decision-making and independent factors at home and abroad is given.While focus is on multiple linear regression，intelligent algorithms，Bayesian networks，and the fuzzy set method，their advantages and disadvantages are also briefly treated.Finally，further prospects on implicit stochastic optimization for operation of reservoirs and hydropower stations are presented to provide technical support for improving the level of actual operation.