Abstract: In recent years, as the industry has advanced, there has been a burgeoning interest in the research and application of friction welding techniques for medium carbon steel materials in the engineering components domain. Therefore, starting from the fundamental principles of rotary friction welding, the article systematically reviews the research progress on rotary friction welding of medium carbon steel at home and abroad in terms of joint microstructure, mechanical properties, fatigue characteristics, and physical field simulations. And presents the influence laws of the process parameters on the friction-welded joints' shaping and properties. Finally, the shortcomings in the current research system of rotary friction welding of medium carbon steel are discussed, and the future development direction is envisioned, with the goal of providing a valuable reference and a solid theoretical foundation for ongoing and future studies in this specialized field.