The fifth group metal element V with the body-centered cubic (BCC) structure has higher permeability, better mechanical properties and lower price than Pd metal. Due to these merits, various vanadium alloy membranes have been developed to show greater resistance to embrittlement than pure V, which are a promising alternative for existing commercial Pd-Ag alloy membranes. In this paper, we present a review for the hydrogen permeation principle, ductile-to-brittle transition hydrogen concentration and the permeability of vanadium alloy membranes reported in the literature and give some perspectives about the future development.