With global climate change and rapid urbanization, extreme weather events have become much more frequent. As one of the most typical extreme weather events caused by climate change, heat wave has been enhancing the heat-related health risks, and continuously attracting widespread attention from meteorologists, medical professionals and geographers. As a bridging actor integrating meteorological and medical fields, geography provides spatial indicators for heat wave vulnerability assessment, ideas and methods for mapping, spatial solutions for practical work such as planning and early warning. This article systematically reviews the progress of spatial assessment of heat wave vulnerability based on the perspective of geography. The contents include the definition of heat wave, spatial indicators and mapping methods. The literature reviews indicate that heat wave vulnerability assessment has gradually deepened from single perspective to the interdisciplinary study of meteorology, medicine, geography and other disciplines. In the future, more detailed exploration will be carried out, such as the construction of spatial indicators to integrate the advantages and research demands of various disciplines; the exploration about small-scale community to regional large-scale links and cross-regional research expression by mapping. Spatial approaches require differentiated research among different groups, which provide a scientific basis for climate change adaptation of cities.