Marine crane can be used in all kinds of ships as it has various types, large lifting capacity, excellent performance and wide application. As one of the indispensable supporting equipment for modern ships, it plays an important role in the shipping industry. The principles, procedures and precautions of the selection and layout of marine cranes have been comprehensively and systematically analyzed. The simplified modelling of the crane is established to clarify the principle and the procedure of the selection and layout of the crane, as well as summarize the review points of the three-dimensional (3D) layout of the crane. The technicians can be instructed to quickly determine the location of the crane based on the layout method described in this paper, and also to quickly check the interference of the crane in 3D environment by using the 3D design software CATIA to verify the rationality of the crane location.