Unmanned aerial vehicle systems (UAVS) will be an important means of executing information counter, attaining information advantage, and carrying out precision strike in the future. Autonomy is the first technical feature of UAVS, which is different from manned aerial vehicles in nature. To realize autonomous control of UAVS and improve its intelligence degree is an important development trend of UAVS. Autonomous control of UAVS was reviewed in this paper. First development requirement for autonomous control of UAVS was analyzed, and the concept of autonomous control and the autonomy level was introduced. Then the researches in this field were investigated, and the relevant key techniques of autonomous control of UAVS, including the system structure, perception and cognition, planning and control, cooperation and interaction et al, were discussed respectively. Finally, the research areas were proposed to address the development directions.