Secret consumption is a common phenomenon in daily life and a significant factor affecting consumer behavior. It also serves as a useful marketing and promotion strategy for enterprises. Despite the growing interest in secret consumption among marketing scholars, research on this topic in China remains underdeveloped and lacks a systematic review and synthesis of existing literature. This paper aims to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive overview of secret consumption research. Firstly, it begins by introducing the literature sources and research trends on secret consumption, defines the concept of secret consumption, distinguishes it from similar concepts, clarifies the classification of secret consumption, and summarizes the measurement and manipulation methods of secret consumption. Secondly, it analyzes the factors that affect individual secret consumption behavior from both internal and external environments, examines the impact of secret consumption on subsequent consumer psychology and behavior, and explores the mechanism of secret consumption occurrence. Thirdly, it discusses the implications of secret consumption research for marketing practice, and proposes directions and suggestions for future research. This paper not only contributes to enhancing individual secret consumption experience, but also offers guidance for enterprises to create a secret consumption atmosphere and effectively promote their products.