Abstract: Self-disclosure is one of the most important concepts in social psychology and clinical counseling and therapy. This article sums up the self-disclosure researches on the conception, including static and dynamic opinion, and types, including descriptive and evaluative self-disclosure or positive and negative self-disclosure. Moreover, its functions, related theories such as social penetration, inhibition, communication privacy management and primary measurements are introduced. Early researches focus on the following aspects, such as subjects, target persons, gender difference, and the relationship between self-disclosure and loneliness or close relationship. Disclosures of AIDS/HIV, child sexual abuses, emotions and traumas have become the research focuses in recent years. Expending the definition of self-disclosure, further study of adolescent self-disclosure and perfection of tools are the trends of research in this field

Key words: self-disclosure, AIDS/HIV disclosure, child sexual abuse disclosure, emotional disclosure, disclosure of traumas