Abstract: Bamboo is one of the renewable resources in the world. It is an ideal material for building industry because of its good mechanical properties. With the improvement of social economy, the development of science and technology, and the promotion of national policy, bamboo structures will be one of the development directions in the future. This is mainly because the whole life cycle of bamboo structures can achieve co-existence with an ecological environment. The basic methods for the research of bamboo structures can learn from more mature traditional structural studies. However, bamboo is the foundation of bamboo structures. This special material makes bamboo structures different from traditional structures in terms of members, joints and systems. At present, the research on bamboo structures lacks uniform material constitutive. Not only that, but the research methods are single, and the connection forms of nodes are limited. The above-mentioned problems limit the wide application of bamboo structures in engineering. An overall review is given on mechanical properties of bamboo, bamboo members and joints, as well as common bamboo structural systems based on published literatures and authors' research work. The structural system of sprayed composite mortar-original bamboo has a good mechanical behavior, functionality, adaptability, and efficiency. It can replace traditional brick concrete structures and is applied to township and rural low-rise buildings. The structural system of sprayed composite mortar-original bamboo has high application value.