The rapid development of next-generation aerospace vehicles has imposed more stringent requirements on structural components in terms of super-high load-bearing capacity, ultra-high precision, and extreme lightweight design. How to effectively maintain the ge-ometry and functionality of key areas through structural design while ensuring the load-bearing performance under harsh aerospace load environments is a typical shape preserving design problem. Firstly, this paper systematically reviews the research progress relat-ed to shape preserving design based on topology optimization method, discussing the origins of the shape preserving concept and its applications in aerospace structural design. Subsequently, the recent applications of shape-preserving concepts in the fields of statics, dynamics, and multi-physics coupling are summarized in depth, clarifying that the core of shape preserving design lies in energy regulation and channeling within the structure. On this basis, the paper further summarizes the practical achievements of shape pre-serving methods in the optimization design of complex aerospace structures, optical-mechanical systems, and multi-component lay-outs, emphasizing the significant value of shape preserving ideas in functional system design. Finally, it explores the development and application prospects of shape preserving concepts in fields such as multi-scale structural design, robustness optimization, and complex system design, providing theoretical references and technical support for future related research and equipment development.