Total body irradiation (TBI) is a technique that irradiates the entire body of the patient. It serves as a conditioning regimen prior to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for hematological diseases. Its primary functions include killing residual tumor cells, immunosuppression, and creating space in the bone marrow for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Currently, the main methods of implementing TBI include extended distance fixed field irradiation, volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT-TBI), and segmented irradiation. In this paper, based on our clinical experience, we review the technical characteristics and relevant research progress of these three methods.