Amine compounds have been widely applied in the field of pharmaceuticals, dyes and fine chemicals due to its characteristics of chemical structure and property. Many methods for the synthesis of amine compounds are available, in which the reductive amination of nitroarenes and alcohols has attracted extensive attention because nitroarenes and alcohols with the advantages of good accessibility and stable chemical properties can directly be converted to amines by one-pot method without additional hydrogen sources. The recent progress is summarized from two aspects: catalyst and catalytic mechanism based on reaction pathways of the reductive amination of nitroarenes in this article. We introduce all kinds of catalytic systems in detail such as noble metal, photocatalyst, and so on, the catalytic performance, applicability and catalytic mechanism of which are highlighted. It needs to be pointed out that these catalytic systems show varying degrees of success as well as limitations like high cost of catalyst, narrow applicable range of substrates, excessive exogenous base, additional hydrogen source and/or toxic organic solvents. Based on the above problems, it would be desirable to develop a green, efficient, inexpensive and universal catalytic system, the catalytic mechanism of various catalysts should be systematically studied to provide guidance for the development of catalytic system on the other hand.