As increasing attention has been paid to the flavor of dairy products, research on dairy flavors will promote the rapid development of the dairy flavor industry. In this paper, we summarize recent progress in research on dairy flavors, review the main flavor compounds of some common dairy products, analyze the mechanism of off-flavor formation, and provide some solutions to this problem based on the preparation process for dairy flavors. It is expected that this review will provide new ideas for the development of flavored dairy products and dairy flavors in the future.