Structural lightweight is a critical technology to improve endurance time and maneuvering performance for the anti-aircraft missile,which is of great significance for the future development of defense equipment.The structure and service environment of the anti-aircraft missile were analyzed in this study.Then,the progress of theory and application of structural optimization methods including size optimization,shape optimization and topology optimization were also studied.The applications of high performance lightweight materials such as metallic material,polymer matrix composites,ceramic matrix composites and metal matrix composites in missiles were reviewed.Finally,advanced manufacturing technologies including near net shape forming technology,additive manufacturing technology,and composite material molding technology were introduced.This paper presents the current challenges faced by the lightweight technology of anti-aircraft missiles,and the trends of research in the future are explained.