Abstract: Abdominal external hernia mainly includes inguinal hernia and ventral hernia. Tension-free repair is the main procedure for adult patients with abdominal external hernia. Sublay repair is an ideal technique for abdominal external hernia repair with the placement of mesh in the retromuscular or prepe-ritoneal space. Sublay repair provides a reliable repair with low incidence of recurrence and other postoperative complications. In addition, no direct contact between the mesh and abdominal organs effectively prevents mesh-related complications including intra-abdominal adhesion. In recent decades, as the update in the principles of abdominal external hernia repair, experts in hernia and abdominal wall surgery prefer to treat external hernia at the abdominal wall. Therefore, sublay technique attract more attention from hernia surgeons. New techniques and procedures based on sublay technique become more and more popular in external hernia repair, including open, laparoscopic and Da Vinci robotic operations. The authors summarize the application of sublay technique in the repair of inguinal and ventral hernias, introduce various types of procedures using sublay technique including classic and newly-developed procedures, aim to extend the standardized treatment of abdominal external hernia.