Surface plasmon-mediated chemical reactions (SPMCRs) have emerged as a rapidly developing research area within plasmonics, where localized surface plasmons enhance light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, facilitating the efficient conversion and utilization of photon energy to drive chemical processes. SPMCRs have shown great promise for driving chemical processes under significantly milder reaction conditions that are often inaccessible using conventional thermochemistry. Over the past few decades, various reactions have been extensively studied using advanced experimental and theoretical tools. However, discerning the individual contributions within SPMCRs remains challenging. The efficient utilization of SPMCRs for practical applications continues to be a daunting task. This review summarizes recent advances in SPMCRs and proposes several strategies aimed at achieving a more comprehensive understanding of the chemical reaction systems.