Abstract: The applications of ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y sources were reviewed on clinical medicine, thickness gauge, continuous energy supply for science and industry, reference source for contamination calibration. The application of each source proposes certain requirement for the source properties, and that could be realized by some corresponding preparation method. Different ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y source preparation methods for each application were introduced, and the characteristics of them were contrasted.