The current development situation of silicon quantum dots (QDs) solar cells is described. The multi-exciton phenomenon generated by the impact ionization due to the quantum confinement effect is introduced,and the silicon QDs cell design theory is analyzed. Meanwhile,several current production processes of the silicon quantum dots at present,and the detailed precipitation process of silicon quantum dots from silicon-rich silicon layers are presented. Finally,several kinds of configurations of the silicon QDs cells such as tandem solar cells,PN junction solar cells,and intermediate band-gap solar cells are introduced.