Abstract: With its great national strategic importance and socio-economic benefits, the high-speed vehicle always plays a specific role in the field of aerospace. In this paper, the structural optimization technique and its application in the aircraft design are reviewed firstly. Then, the specific applications of structural optimization techniques in the high-speed vehicle design are then discussed in the context of the typical service environment and the design requirement. We show typical cases subsequently with applications in the concept design of the high-speed vehicle and in the innovative and improved design of their parts over the last years. In view of the solid theoretical foundations as well as the numerous successful engineering practices of the structural optimization, it not only provides an effective tool, but also brings about revolutionary changes for the design of high-speed vehicle structures. It is anticipated that the structural optimization supplemented by the empirical design will surely be a standard procedure for the aircraft design, and the practice-oriented research will undoubtedly enhance the core competitiveness of the aerospace industry in China