Silver-coated copper powder is a composite material in which silver is coated on the surface of copper. It has the potential to replace silver powder for making pastes, thus cost can be reduced. This paper described the preparation methods of silver-coated copper powder, including mechanical ball milling, melt atomization and chemical plating. Chemical plating has the advantages of simple equipment and low cost, and has become the most widely used method in industry. The principle and process of chemical plating were introduced, and the differences between displacement method and reduction method were compared. Furthermore, the coating mechanism of silver-coated copper powder was summarized. This paper also introduced the applications and progress of silver-coated copper powder in the fields of conductive adhesives, electromagnetic shielding coatings and conductive inks. The technical challenges of silver-coated copper powder were identified, the control model of thickness of coating layer was needed to reduce silver content while maintaining high oxidation resistance. This review can provide guidance for the preparation method and give a deep understanding on the coating mechanism of silver-coated copper powder.