The inertia tensor is a measure of the rotational inertia of a rigid body when it rotates around a fixed point

and it is a key parameter in the design of control systems.The recent development of aircraft technology has made the need to accurately measure the inertia tensor of large⁃size irregular objects very urgent.Firstly

the research history and current problems of inertia tensor measurement were reviewed

and the measurement principles of methods such as the torsion pendulum method

the compound pendulum method

the energy method

and the parameter method were discussed respectively.Secondly

the issues such as the sources of measurement errors and error compensation that need to be faced when these measurement methods measure the inertia tensor of large⁃size irregular bodies were explored.Finally

the development history of inertia tensor measurement and point out the current problems and the follow⁃up research directions was summarized.