Abstract: The progresses of experimental devices and skills on overland flow and hillslope processes are summarized in this paper. It shows that the tendency of rainfall simulated device and equipment is automation, large scale for whole slope experiment and mini type for field simulation. The content of experiment focus on rainfall splash, soil crusting processes, overland flow, rill erosion, gully erosion, and the benefit of soil erosion control. On the basis of reviewing abroad and domestic recent development of field plot experiment, the problems and futures of researching on these fields are put forward from experimental device and skill, experimental content, field plot observation. The main problems of experiment device include the apparatus of observing the velocity and depth of overland flow, and the laser mircoreliefmete. The field plot data should pay more attention to the processes of runoff and sediment yield, so as to study the mechanism of slope erosion and build the process based model of water erosion prediction. The problem urgent to be solved is the comparability between the field and laboratory data.

Key words: erosion, experiment development, hillslope processes, overland flow