The manufacturing techniques of the silicon crystal has aroused great attention accompanying with the rapid development of the solar cell in China in recent years. As one of the important synthetic methods of silicon crystal, the silicon ingot casting method becomes hot research topics. Here, by analyzing the relevant patents technologies from the worldwide, we review the silicon ingot casting techniques developed by different research institutes from three aspects: seed, nucleation and set-up of the crucible. We compare the different techniques between different research groups in China and other nations, and propose possible ways for the manufacturing issues in the solar cells, including the development of the adjustment of grain growth rate, reduction of defects concentration in crystals and improvement of crystal quality.