Pulsed magnetic treatment (PMT) has been adopted as an effective strengthening method for engineering materials and components in recent years, and the development of its application depends on the comprehensive understanding of the nature of PMT. The deep mechanism was thought initially to be the magnetostrictive effect, while further investigation found that the magnetic field could lead to the change of the defect states in the crystal, which is called the magnetoplastic effect. Due to the complexity of the engineering materials, manifestations of the magnetoplastic effect become more diverse, and they were reviewed in the form of microstructure homogenization and interfacial stabilization. Further, the mechanism of the magnetoplastic effect was discussed, focusing on the changes in the spin states under the external magnetic field. Microstructure modifications could also alter material performances, especially the residual stress, plasticity, and fatigue properties. Therefore, PMT with specific parameters can be utilized to obtain an ideal combination of microstructure, residual stress, and mechanical properties for better service performance of different mechanical parts, and its applications on machining tools and bearings are perfect examples. This work reviews the effect of PMT on the microstructure and properties of different materials and the mechanism, and it also summarizes the fundamental applications of PMT on essential mechanical parts.

脉冲磁处理（PMT）作为一种有效的工程材料和构件强化方法，近年来已被采用，其应用的发展取决于对PMT本质的全面了解。其深层机制最初被认为是磁致伸缩效应，但进一步研究发现磁场可以导致晶体中缺陷态的改变，这被称为磁塑性效应。由于工程材料的复杂性，磁塑性效应的表现形式变得更加多样化，并以微观结构均匀化和界面稳定化的形式进行综述。进一步讨论了磁塑性效应的机理，重点讨论了外磁场下自旋态的变化。微观结构的改变也可能改变材料的性能，特别是残余应力、塑性和疲劳性能。因此，利用特定参数的PMT可以获得显微组织、残余应力和机械性能的理想组合，从而使不同机械零件具有更好的使用性能，其在加工工具和轴承上的应用就是很好的例子。本文综述了PMT对不同材料微观结构和性能的影响及其机理，并总结了PMT在重要机械零件上的基本应用。