Debriefing has been identified as the most critical and important component in simulation-based education. Usually, debriefing following medical simulation is facilitated by a clinician (the debriefer). However, the shortage of clinical teachers due to the huge clinical workload has been the main obstacle for simulation-based medical education. Peer debriefing has been proved to be an effective alternative strategy to instructor-based debriefing, which might not be inferior to instructor-based debriefing. This review summarizes the application of peer debriefing in simulation-based medical education, and provides useful information for future practice in healthcare simulation.