Vigilance is defined as the ability to maintain attention or alertness over prolonged periods of time. Since Mid-20th century, following the increasing man-machine communication, high level of vigilance has been demanded in many areas including driving safety, medical care and therapy, aerospace and military affairs, etc. Therefore, finding quick methods to improve the level of vigilance has become a key issue in medical study. Based on physical regulation, chemical regulation and physiological regulation, the research progress has been summarized in this paper. We, furthermore, also try to predict the future trend in this academic area and develop some tentative ideas about seeking more effective and convenient ways to improve the level of brain vigilance.