Targeted temperature management (TTM) has been partially applied in patients with restoration of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after cardiac arrest (CA). In the 2020 American Heart Association (AHA) cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines, TTM is used as advanced life support after ROSC for the treatment of patients with CPR. TTM has a protective effect on cardiac function after CA, but the specific mechanism of its protective effect on cardiac function remains unclear. In this paper, the basic experimental progress, clinical trial progress and development prospect of TTM on the protective mechanism of cardiac function after CA are reviewed.