Abstract: Heat pipe is a highly efficient passive heat transfer element and heat pipe cooled reactor nuclear power systems offer outstanding advantages in multi-scenario special applications. This paper provides an overview of the development of special nuclear power systems with heat pipe cooled reactor. Firstly, the conceptual proposal of heat pipe cooled reactors and the analysis of application scenarios in sea, land, air and space were introduced, while summarizing the development status of typical reactor at home and abroad. Then, the key technical challenges currently faced by heat pipe cooled reactors were discussed, including high-performance materials, high-performance heat pipe development, high-efficiency energy conversion technology, and design analysis technology for nuclear reactor. Finally, future trends were analyzed and outlooked, emphasizing the importance of overall system integration development, power generation device characterization, and intelligent autonomous control technologies in the field of heat pipe cooled reactors. These research results will promote the further development of heat pipe cooled reactor technology and provide important support for the application of future nuclear power systems.