Polycythemia vera (PV) is a type of BCR::ABL1 negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), which is a chronic myeloid tumor caused by gene mutations in hematopoietic stem cells. PV has a certain risk of progressing to myelofibrosis or acute myeloid leukemia. At present, the goal of PV treatment is still to prevent thrombosis. With the deepening of PV research, it is possible to transform the lifelong treatment to prevent the progression of the disease from alleviating the symptoms of patients. This article reviews the mechanism of traditional cytoreductive therapy drugs and the latest clinical trial results, as well as the early clinical trial data and their mechanism of action of new PV drugs and combination of drugs, in order to provide help for researchers who pay attention to PV treatment.