Hydrogen storage is the key technological problem for a viable hydrogen economy and so far, finding an efficient and safe method of storing hydrogen remains an indomitable challenge. Chemical sorption via solid-state hydrides, offering reliable, compact and high capacity features, is considered one of the most promising avenues for hydrogen storage. Among the diverse hydrides, metal borohydrides are excellent candidates on account of their high gravimetric and volumetric density. However, these hydrides generally suffer from high temperatures of de/rehydrogenation, slow sorption rate, limited reversiblity and poor cyclability due to the intrinsic thermodynamic stability and/or sluggish kinetics. In this review, we summarize recent researches and applications on the aspect of optimizing performance through substitution, composite, doping, and nanostructure, cognizing the relevant reaction mechanism for the metal borohydride-based system. The challenges and countermeasures are illustrated, and the direction to further enhancing the hydrogen storage properties of the system is also pointed out.