With the development of global air transport， air traffic services， including air traffic control， aeronautical operational control， etc， have entailed higher performance of aviation communication systems. As one of the new generation aviation communication system schemes， L-band digital aeronautical communication system（L-DACS） could achieve a better data transmission rate， spectrum utilization efficiency and capacity， solving scarcity of spectrum resources. This paper summarizes L-DACS’s state-of-the-art progresses and studies， specifically its technology evolution and standardization development. Then， a draft of layered system framework is introduced， covering network， datalink and physics levels. Finally， challenges that L-DACS faces and its corresponding developing proposals are given. This review provides a reference for the research of aviation broadband communication.