Rail crawling detection is an important detection content to ensure the safe operation of railways.This article investigated the management standards and detection methods for rail crawling,and elaborated on the main problems in the current rail crawling detection process in China,including long track mileage and heavy detection tasks,missing markers,and on site recorder inaccuracy.The research and development of new technologies for rail crawling detection is imperative.In the application research of new technologies,machine vision detection methods can achieve high-precision(better than 1mm)and non-contact detection.Developing mobile intelligent rail crawling detection technology on mobile platforms will replace manual inspection and become the main research direction in the future.By combining data collection,management,and analysis on information platforms,comprehensive evaluation and prediction of railway status can be achieved,providing a basis for intelligent inspection,maintenance,and repair of railways in China.