As device sizes in the IC industry are getting smaller and surfaces become more complex, more and more requirements are proposed on coatings, and atomic layer deposition has gained widespread attention due to its unique advantages of conformality and self-limiting growth. This paper focuses on atomic layer deposition of transparent conductive films. Firstly, some of the commonly used coating methods are briefly introduced, and details of the atomic layer deposition of thin films are reviewed, including chemical adsorption followed by surface chemical reactions. Two factors influencing the self-limiting growth of atomic layer deposition, namely deposition temperature and precursor gas flow rate, are discussed. Secondly, the morphology and composition of the films prepared by atomic layer deposition are analyzed, and the advantages are strengthened, using indium oxide as a representative example. The optoelectronic properties of some common transparent conductive films prepared by different methods, such as indium oxide, tin oxide, zinc oxide and their doped films are also summarized. Thirdly, the application range of atomic layer deposition are reviewed. It is found that high quality films can be prepared on large size substrates, such as large planar and curvature substrates, with uniform film thickness, good conformality and insignificant changes in film properties. When coating on small size substrates, such as powders, trenches and micro-nano structures, the conformality of atomic layer deposition is still obtained, with uniform film thickness and high quality film. Finally, the advantages of atomic layer deposition for thin films are summarized and its unique potential is discussed.