The attachment and accumulation of ice, a common natural phenomenon, brings many inconvenience and even serious disaster to human society. The anti-icing surface is a hot topic in current research, and the surface structure and properties of materials are the key factors that influence the icing. But up to date, there still exist some problems, such as poor stability and limitation of application conditions, to be further comprehensively and systematically studied due to the complexity of icing conditions and the diversity of icing types. In the review, based on the relationships between the anti-icing properties and the molecule’s flexibility or slippage of the material surface, the concept of the flexible anti-icing surface is proposed and the types and mechanisms of flexible anti-icing surfaces, including intrinsic surface, sustained release surface and lubrication surface are summarized. Furthermore,the research progress and prospects of various flexible anti-icing surfaces are emphatically described and the existing problems of these surfaces are particularly analyzed. The challenges and the prospective tendency of flexible anti-icing surfaces are also given according the current research.