Abstract: Infection is one of the most serious complications in orthopedic trauma especially in open fractures. To urgently and effectively reduce the risk of infection has always been a hot spot or a diffcult issue. With the rapid development of material science and tissue engineering, many new medical dressings have been invented at the historic moment, such as flm type, hydrogel type, foam type, hydrocolloid type, especially the surgical dressings of hydrogel type, which has an excellent biocompatibility and a good wound shape adaptability, are widely used in the feld of wound dressing. This review aims to summarize the status quo and progress of antibacterial properties in hydrogel dressings, analyze the advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of hydrogel antibacterial activity, and provide evidences for clinical applications.