Abstract: Improving donor-hydrogen capacity of recycle solvent has been one important aspect of the direct coal liquefaction(DCL) process, and hydrogenated polycyclic aromatics are the main effective compositions of recycle solvent. In hence, selective hydrogenation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is the effective measure to promote the donor-hydrogen capacity. This paper detailed the hydrogenation routes of polycyclic aromatics. And the effect of catalysts and reaction conditions on hydrogenated products were also summarized. The more ring in aromatics, the more difficult it is to hydrogenate. It is beneficial to produce the hydrogenation intermediate with CoMo, NiCl catalysts and optimizing the process conditions. However, the process of hydrogenated polycyclic aromatics is still being developed. Besides, the hydrogenation process is the first-order reaction and the hydrogenate rate of the first ring is the fastest. The hydrogenation equilibrium constant decrease with the rise of temperature. By combining thermodynamics, kinetics and molecular simulation, it is feasible to generate highly efficient hydrogenated aromatic hydrocarbons.