Viral diseases pose a major risk to human health and human society. Research on vaccines as an economical and effective countermeasure is of great importance to prevent the spread of viruses and to treat viral diseases. Here in this work, we first introduce the reader to the role of the immune system in which vaccines are involved, while reviewing the history of vaccine development. We then present a detailed classification of viral vaccines, describing representative applications to elucidate the research value of different vaccines. We conclude with our views on future trends in the development of vaccine designs.