In recent years, the development of new energy vehicles industry is accelerating. Lithium nickel cobalt manganese/aluminum oxide ternary cathode materials (NCM/NCA), especially with the nickel content ≥50%, has aroused great interest in both academia and industry. This is mainly due to the fact that the aggregative parameters of performance and cost of NCM/NCA are superior to those of traditional cathode materials, such as LiCoO₂ and LiFePO₄. However, the application of NCM/NCA is affected by a number of drawbacks, including poor safety and insufficient cycle stability and so on, which are mainly attributed to its crystal and surface structure. Researchers have carried out various efforts to solve these problems and further improve the performance of NCM/NCA. Some remarkable results have been achieved in the past few years. In this review, the latest research progress on coating and doping of Ni-rich ternary cathode materials is summarized from the view on the mechanism of structural and electrochemical improvement of NCM/NCA. Finally, the perspective for the development of NCM/NCA cathode materials is also prospected.