Zeolite membranes offer great application potentials in membrane separation and/or reaction due to their excellent separation performance and catalytic ability. Up to present, various synthesis methods of zeolite mem- branes have been developed, including embedded method, in-situ hydrothermal synthesis method, and secondary growth method etc. Compared with the in-situ hydrothermal synthesis method, the secondary growth method possesses a variety of advantages such as easier operation, higher con- trollability in crystal orientation, microstructure and film thickness, leading to much better reproducibility. This review provides a concise summary and analysis of various synthesis methods reported in the literature. In particular, the secon- dary growth method was discussed in detail in terms of crys- tal orientation, defects and crystal grain layers. Some critical issues were also highlighted, which were conducive to the improvement in the synthesis technology of zeolite mem- branes. Zeolite membranes offer great application potentials in membrane separation and / or reaction due to their excellent separation performance and catalytic ability. Up to present, various synthesis methods of zeolite mem- branes have been developed, including embedded method, in-situ hydrothermal synthesis method, and secondary growth method etc. Compared with the in-situ hydrothermal synthesis method, the secondary growth method possesses a variety of advantages such as easier operation, higher con- trollability in crystal orientation, microstructure and film thickness, leading to much better reproducibility. review provides a concise summary and analysis of various synthesis methods reported in the literature. In particular, the secon- dary growth method was discussed in detail in terms of crys- tal orientation, defects and crystal grain layers. which were conducive to the improvement in the synthesis technology of zeolite mem- branes.