Due to its merit of rapid start-up, lower pollution and high energy conversion efficiency, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system has been considered as one of the most promising propulsion system for electric vehicles. Although the development of PEMFC system has been experienced rapid growth for several decades, many challenges still need to be overcome for promoting commercialize fuel cell technology. In order to understand the design concept of PEMFC system and update the development status of fuel cell system for electric vehicle, as well as help fuel cell system developers or electric vehicle manufacturers to improve the performance and durability of fuel cell electric vehicles, the up-to-date technical targets such as power density, operation temperature, dynamic response and lifetime for PEMFC systems in different countries have been summarized and compared in this review. Furthermore, from the aspects of hydrogen management and air management and major degradation mechanisms under various operation conditions, the design status of the system configuration in fuel cell has also been analyzed in detail. Finally, according to the design and intended operation the mitigation strategies have also been proposed to promote the development of PEMFC system for electric vehicle applications.