Stepped care model （SCM） usually refers to a model that starts with low-intensity treatment and gradually steps up to the higher intensity of treatment for patients who do not respond adequately. At present， the demand for mental health services in society is increasing rapidly， but the utilization rate of medical resources is low and the treatment gap is large. Cognitive behavioral therapy （CBT）， as the mainstream psychotherapy method， needs to incorporate a more flexible model to address the challenges of the times. The article reviewed the application status quo （including primary outcome measures， health economics indexes and process-oriented measures） of SCM in CBT from 2010 to 2022. The existing limitations and possible improvement strategies of SCM application in CBT were discussed， aiming to provide a more flexible model for the clinical practice of CBT in mental health services in China， and to more efficiently utilize existing medical resources to serve more patients with mental disorders.