As a prototype of abrupt climate changes, the Younger Dryas (YD) event occurred during the last deglaciation, when the Northern Hemispheric temperatures decreased significantly. This event, a focus of interest in the paleoclimate studies, has promoted the understanding of millennialscale climate changes. Currently,increasing highresolution records identified a spatiotemporal heterogeneity for the YD event. Knowledge of the structure and transitional pattern for these spatial expressions helps to determine the phase relationship between them, and further understand how reorganization of regional environments responses to rapid climate changes at the low and highlatitudes. Thus, the previous hypotheses of triggerresponse can be tested to deduce a physical interpretation for the YD and present a basis for climate prediction under the similar boundary conditions. By summarizing and comparing the modeling studies and geologic records, this review focuses on the regional responses and the current debates for YD event, and then presents some areas and directions to be further studied.Increasing highresolution records identified a spatiotemporal heterogeneity for the Younger Dryas (YD) event. Knowledge of the structure and transitional pattern for these spatial expressions helps to determine the phase relationship between them, and further understand how reorganization of regional environments response to rapid climate changes at the low and highlatitudes. Thus, the previous hypotheses of triggerresponse can be tested to deduce a physical interpretation for the YD and present a basis for climate prediction under the similar boundary conditions.