Excitons in van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures exhibit multiple excellent characteristics which in recent years have attracted researchers to make an in-depth exploration. In this review, we briefly introduce vdW heterostructures based on monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides and the emerging exciton characteristics in them, especially the formation of interlayer excitons. Then, we summarize the main results of a recent study about excitons in vdW heterostructures, including a Bose–Einstein condensate state, moir excitons, and the complex exciton dynamics. The applications of excitons in vdW heterostructures are also mentioned, particularly the valley devices, which have a promising outlook. Finally, we point out some problems that exist at present, and give some future research directions.

范德华（vdW）异质结构中的激子具有多种优异的特性，近年来吸引了研究人员进行深入研究。在这篇综述中，我们简要介绍了基于单层过渡金属二硫属化合物的vdW异质结构及其中新兴的激子特性，尤其是层间激子的形成。然后，我们总结了有关vdW异质结构中激子的最新研究的主要结果，这些激子包括Bose-Einstein凝聚态，莫尔激子和复杂激子动力学。还提到了激子在vdW异质结构中的应用，特别是谷底器件，具有广阔的前景。最后，我们指出了目前存在的一些问题，并给出了今后的研究方向。