Phycobiliproteins are mainly found in blue-green algae, red algae and some species of cryptophytic algae. They function as major light-harvesting complexes to harvest and transfer sunlight energy. Meanwhile,phycobiliproteins are also fluorescent proteins with high fluorescence quantum yield, and in consequence be widely concerned in both theoretical photosynthesis investigation and application. The cryptophytic phycobiliproteins are inherited from red algae but varied in several ways compared to phycobiliproteins from red algae and blue-green algae, including their protein and phycobilin structure, composition, properties, existential states within chloroplast, as well as the contact forms with reaction centers embedded in photosynthetic membrane,etc. At present, there is a thorough understanding with both phycobiliproteins and phycobilisome assembled by phycobiliproteins in red and blue algae, however, much less understanding about cryptophytic phycobiliproteins.This is considered as the weak point of the study among phycobiliprotein family members. Cryptophytic phycobiliproteins, which are very likely belong to a more primitive type of phycobiliproteins in the view of evolution, and are simpler than that of phycobilisome in terms of structure, therefore, are more important and more convenient in investigating the relation between fundamental structure and light-harvesting function of phycobiliproteins, discussing the evolutionary position of cryptophytic algae and the genetic relationship of photosynthetic organisms etc. In this paper, present research status in the respect of structure, function of energy transfer of cryptophytic phycobiliproteins currently found are reviewed, the current research of the unknown is summarized, and the new ideas for future investigation are also provided.