Abstract: A lot of climate and environmental information is recorded in tree rings. How to better dig out other environmental information contained in tree rings from multiple scales is one of the important scientific problems that need to be solved urgently. Tree rings are formed by the regular growth and changes of tree cambium cells in trees. Under harsh environmental conditions or when the environment changes, it will affect the normal activities of cambium, thus leaving some special traces in the tree ring structure, such as frost ring, false ring, shallow ring and missing ring and other abnormal structures. The formation of abnormal structure is closely related to climate factors such as temperature, precipitation, light, etc. In addition, the production of reaction wood and resin channels is mainly affected by mechanical external forces. By exploring the relationship between anomalous tree-tings and environmental factors, it is helpful to deeply understand the influence of extreme events on tree cambium activities. The characteristics of different types of abnormal structures, such as areas, tree species, seasonal conditions, formation mechanism and their application in extreme events, were summarized based on the relevant reports of abnormal tree-rings, which was helpful to understand the impact of extreme events on forests and the response mechanism of trees to extreme events from the physiological perspective. It is expected to provide new strategies and methods for future related research.