Vascular diseases including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and peripheral vascular diseases of the lower extremities are serious threats to human health. The emergence of compression therapy is of great significance for the effective prevention and treatment of these vascular diseases and the therapeutic value of compression therapy has been confirmed by many research results in the present. Compression therapy is a non-invasive physical therapy which is implemented through a series of compression therapy devices, including external counterpulsation for the treatment of various ischemic diseases, intermittent pneumatic compression for the treatment of diabetic foot, graduated compression stockings for the treatment of deep vein thrombosis, and so on. This review summarizes clinical applications of these typical compression therapies in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and peripheral vascular diseases of the lower extremities, analyzes their advantages and limitations and discusses the necessity and significance of biomechanical research on compression therapies.