The terahertz technique has wide application prospect and research value in fundamental research field,industrial and military applications.The terahertz source is an important factor to determine the prospects and development potential of terahertz technique.For the research and development of photoconductive material,the photoconductive terahertz source is an important way to generate broadband terahertz radiation.It is also a very active area among all related techniques in terahertz.This article makes a comprehensive review about principle,performance factors and research situation of photoconductive terahertz source,focusing on substrate material,electrode geometry and excitation source.The existing problems,the possible solutions and its future development are briefly reviewed and discussed.