The beneficial effects of buckling-restrained braces (BRBs) in bridge engineering have attracted widespread attention in recent years. Firstly, this paper introduces the basic working mechanism of traditional BRBs, and the new forms and new materials of BRBs are also being studied. Secondly, the responses and performances of BRBs applied to (piers) girder bridges, cable-stayed bridges, and arch bridges are systematically studied. Besides, studies on the connection nodes between BRBs and structures have been paid more and more attention. By comparing and analyzing the damping effect of BRBs alone and that of BRBs with other seismic isolation devices on a bridge, it is determined that a reasonable BRB layout can effectively improve the seismic performance of the bridge with better energy dissipation capacity and load-carrying capacity than other components, but they are less used in practice and do not have mature specifications to be applied on different bridges. Finally, the following trends in BRB development in bridge research are discussed: the diversity of BRB forms, applications of BRB, node connection security, and combined damping measures. These areas should be explored through in-depth theoretical and experimental research.
Keywords: bridge engineering; buckling-restrained brace; energy dissipation capacity; seismic performance.