With the continuous improvement of urbanization level and the increasing urban spatial density, the urban heat island effect is intensifying, resulting in the increasing range and intensity of extreme climate, which poses a threat to the physical and mental health of urban residents. Urban heat island effect has become a focus of multidisciplinary research. The technical development of existing methods for studying heat island effect at different scales was reviewed, their advantages and disadvantages, and their applicability at different scales were analyzed. In addition, the influence factors of heat island effect on street and valley scale were analyzed. Finally, according to the existing problems in the current research process, the research progress and development trend of urban heat island at street valley scale were proposed from the aspects of data and evaluation methods. The research results provide a reference for the in-depth study of urban street valley heat island effect under the background of compact city development model, and to provide an effective way to mitigate urban heat island effect.