Abstract: The failure of slopes containing key bearing bodies often leads to catastrophic consequences, and the study of their instability mechanisms and prediction and early warning has become a current academic hotspot. From the perspective of the deformation of slopes with key bearing bodies, this paper proposes the definition and classification of non-uniform deformation effects of slopes. On this basis, previous studies are reviewed from two aspects: instability mechanisms and dominant controlling factors of slopes, and instability theories. ResultThe dominant controlling factors for the rupture of key bearing bodies mainly include six types: dynamic induction, excavation disturbance, freeze-thaw cycling, hydraulic effects, time-dependent creep and multi-factor coupling. Among them, the mechanisms of freeze-thaw cycling, hydraulic effects, excavation disturbance and multi-factor coupling are the directions that need to be urgently strengthened in the future study of slopes with key bearing bodies. Although the research on the instability theory of slopes with key bearing bodies has been developed, the influence mechanisms of the distribution and types of multi-level key bearing bodyies and the interaction between key bearing bodies and weak media on the slope failure process still need to be further explored. Finally, based on the progress of experimental, numerical simulation and theoretical research, the scientific challenges existing in the study of non-uniform deformation effects of slopes and instability mechanisms of key bearing bodies are proposed, including the damage mechanism of fractured rock masses of key bearing bodies under hydro-thermo-mechanical multi-factor coupling, the instability mechanism of slopes with key bearing bodies under multi-factor coupling, the construction and verification of multi-field coupling model of seepage field-temperature field-stress field, and the monitoring method and prediction model of dynamic evolution of key bearing body damage.