Vacuum insulation panel (VIP), a kind of ultraefficient insulation materials with Class A fire rating, is widely employed in the field of building wall, home appliances and ships, because the thermal conductivity of VIP is lower than 1~3 mW/(m·K) and the insulation efficiency is 5~10 times higher than the traditional insulation material. Core material composes the core skeleton of the VIP and partially determines the insulation performance, overall strength and service life of VIP. In this paper,by comparative analysis, four types of common core materials are classified: the development of foam, fiber, powder, and fiberpowder mixed core materials,including their advantages and disadvantages, especially the influence of core material on the thermal conductivity, production technology and cost. Some issues of the core materials of vacuum insulation panel in practical application and academic research are given and the development trend is proposed.