Cubic boron nitride (cBN) thin films, as artificially prepared materials, have excellent mechanical, thermal, electronic and optical properties, thus have potentially significant technological applications in cutting tools, high-temperature electronic devices, and protective coatings for optical elements. Cubic BN films have attracted worldwide attention since the early 1980s; however, a numbers of difficulties hindered their applications. In this paper, recent important achievements in cBN film preparation are reviewed, and perspectives for future study of cubic boron nitride film are presented.