Indium tin oxide(ITO) thin-film electrodes have good physical(high conductivity and good light transmission) and chemical properties.Proper surface modification could further extend their applications in electroanalytical chemistry.Based on the present research status，the preparation and cleaning processes of ITO electrodes are briefly introduced in this paper，and the different modification methods are summarized，in which three of the most frequently employed methods，ie.chemical adsorption，silanization and electrochemical grafting are emphatically introduced.Finally，the challenges and future application prospects in the surface modification of ITO thin film electrode are briefly discussed.