Abstract: In order to overcome the limited working stroke of a single piezoelectric element, various stepper motion principles have been proposed in recent years and various configurations of stepper-type piezoelectric actuators have been designed accordingly. The three main types of stepper piezoelectric actuators, namely the looper piezoelectric actuator, the ultrasonic piezoelectric actuator and the viscous-slip piezoelectric actuator, are highlighted, the motion principles of these three piezoelectric actuators and the current state of development of the various actuators are discussed, and the problems and shortcomings of these three stepper piezoelectric actuators are pointed out.