Electrically accelerated corrosion is a method to simulate the rapid corrosion of steel bars in concrete by applying electric current. This paper introduces the natural corrosion mechanism of steel bars, summarizes the characteristics, application scope, influencing factors and their influencing mechanisms of the electrically accelerated corrosion test method. The parameter selection of the electrically accelerated corrosion test in the process of simulating natural corrosion is discussed. The correlation between electrically accelerated corrosion and natural corrosion is analyzed. Finally, it is pointed out that the interaction of multiple factors affecting the accelerated corrosion of steel bar and the similarity between the electrically accelerated corrosion and natural corrosion need to be further studied.