Abstract: The seismic research of underground structures is one of the important research directions in the field of earthquake engineering today. Domestic and foreign scholars have adopted methods such as prototype observation, experimental research, and theoretical analysis in the study of subway station seismic response so far. With the rapid development of computer technology, numerical simulation methods in experimental research are adopted by more and more scholars. In order to shorten the calculation time and simplify the calculation model, the plane model is usually used for calculation. There have been lots of studies on the difference between the plane model and the space model, but few scholars have systematically compared the difference between the results. This article provides a brief and comprehensive review of existing research on plane models. In order to deepen people’s understanding of seismic research methods of underground structures, the characteristics and shortcomings of equivalent area method, equal frame method, equivalent stiffness method and equivalent stiffness reduction elastic modulus method are compared and analyzed.