Energetic materials are used as high-energy components for mixing explosives, propellants and pyrotechnics, and are the energy sources for weapon launch, propulsion and damage. The wide application of energetic materials in the military and civilian fields promotes its continuous development. In order to meet the increasing demand, totalnitrogen and multi-nitrogen heterocyclic energetic compounds have become a research hotspot in recent decades, due to the high nitrogen content and high formation heat. Modern energetic compounds are designed not only in pursuit of excellent detonation performance but also for low sensitivity and good thermal stability. Totalnitrogen compounds have always been noted for their unique molecular composition and structure, and the successful synthesis of pentazole anion (cyclo-N5-) has promoted the development of total-nitrogen energetic compounds. This article briefly describes the research progress and main problems of total-nitrogen energetic compounds from three aspects: poly nitrogen compounds, ionic total-nitrogen compounds, and polymeric nitrogen. Among them, the focus is on the synthesis of pentazole anions, and reported metal and non-metal cyclo-N5- derivatives. Moreover, this article also summarizes the research progress of high-nitrogen compounds with nitrogen content higher than 80%, including binary CN covalent compounds, binary CN anions and tetrazole energetic compounds. Finally, their future research directions and application prospect of total-nitrogen and multi-nitrogen energetic materials are also analyzed.