Intelligent ships are of growing concern in the shipbuilding industry with the development of intelligent technology. With the increasing demands of the shipping industry for environmental protection, safety and economy, major shipbuilding countries in the world, such as China, Japan, South Korea and Europe, have put into the relevant research of intelligent ships. However, each country has different characteristics in the research on the intelligent ship due to the different historical background and state-of-the-art of their respective shipbuilding industry. The state-of-the-art of typical intelligent ship projects in Japan, South Korean and Europe has been investigated to analyze their respective research routes and characteristics from various aspects. It shows that the intelligent ship research in Japan is dominated by the shipping company with the promotion mode from local to overall and the emphasis on the establishment of international standards. In South Korea, it is dominated by shipbuilding enterprises with university-industry cooperation, characterized of outstanding strength on the information industry and developing with degrees of automation. In Europe, it is dominated by enterprises and research institution aiming at unmanned ships by transformation of existing ships. The inspiration on the intelligent ship development in China is finally analyzed based on the investigation of the development of the intelligent ships in Japan, South Korean and Europe.