With the aggravation of water eutrophication, harmful cyanobacterial bloom in fresh water becomes more and more serious on a global scale. Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, a noxious cyanobacterial species that can form blooms in fresh water, has gradually received widespread attention for its potential ability of toxin production and strong invasiveness. In recent years, Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii has spread from the tropics and subtropics to temperate zones with associated blooms in many water bodies. If the toxins come into drinking water, it will undoubtedly pose a potential threat to human health. In this review, recent literatures concerning its geographic distribution, ecophysiology, toxicity, detection and removal processes are summarized. Meanwhile, we discussed the future research directions in related field, which will provide some scientific information for further studies on the ecological toxicology, effective controls and removal of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii.