With the popularization of chest computed tomography (CT) screening, the detection rates of pulmonary peripheral lesions and mediastinal masses have been greatly increased. Novel technologies are emerging to improve the diagnostic rate of traditional bronchoscopy. Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) is a minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment technology combining bronchoscopy and ultrasound. It can provide ultrasound images and guide biopsy of airway wall and adjacent structures of bronchial tree in real time. The main types include convex probe-endobronchial ultrasound (CP-EBUS) and radial probe-endobronchial ultrasound (RP-EBUS). CP-EBUS is mainly used in the major airway and central lung lesions, and plays an important role in mediastinal staging of lung cancer. RP-EBUS comprehensive guidance technology is mainly used in the diagnosis of peripheral lung lesions. In addition, EBUS can also be applied to the minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of some extrapulmonary adjacent organ diseases. With the advantages of low risk, high sensitivity to benign and malignant lesions and good repeatability, EBUS has been widely used in clinical practice all over the world. This paper reviews the development history, clinical application and progress of EBUS.