Abstract: Negative stiffness metamaterials have the characteristics of negative stiffness and multistable properties,and show enormous application prospects in the fields of energy absorption, micromechanism drive, vibration and noise reduction, and band gap regulation. The design key points of negative stiffness metamaterials are expounded from four aspects: unit cell structural forms and geometric parameters of unit cells, arrangement and quantities of unit cells, structural deformation modes, types of raw materials and manufacture processes. The applications of negative stiffness metamaterials in the fields of acoustics, automotive, aerospace, marine engineering, earthquake resistance and hazards reduction, microelectronic components and industrial robots are summarized, and the development trend of negative stiffness metamaterials is prospected.