Abstract: distributed computer system is a noticeable research topic in computer circles.Inorder to apply the distributed approach to artificial intelligence (AI)systems,many concepts.such asdistributed problem solving,distributed AI systems,distributed expert systems,etc.,are (?)troducedand a large amount of research work is done.This paper provides an introduction to the achievementsmade in this field,the applications in AI fields,some unsolved problems,and the significance ofintroducing the distributed approach into AI systems.