When the natural rock particle material is under the action of a large external force, the particle breakage phenomenon will occur, which affects the strength, deformation and penetration of the material, and is related to the safety of the project. Limited to the constraints of test conditions, particle size and shape, numerical simulation has become an increasingly important method to study the problem of particle breakage. By reviewing the research results at home and abroad, two kinds of important numerical simulation methods are summarized: continuum mechanics method (CMM) and discrete element method (DEM). By summarizing each numerical simulation method, two discrete element numerical simulation methods for simulating particle crushing process are analyzed: the fragment replacement model (FRM) and the bonded-particle model (BPM). By arranging the research contents and characteristics of the two models, the advantages and limitations of the existing methods are discussed, and the possibility of particle breakage based on DEM is proposed.