Pulsed field ablation (PFA), an emerging treatment method for atrial fibrillation, has demonstrated significant potential in arrhythmia therapy. PFA employs high-intensity, short-duration electric fields to induce irreversible electroporation in myocardial cells, disrupting abnormal cardiac rhythms, and restoring normal heart function. This technique exhibits high success rates and low recurrence rates in animal studies and early clinical trials, offering advantages over traditional methods by reducing damage to adjacent structures such as the esophagus, phrenic nerve, and pulmonary veins. This review examines PFA’s application mechanisms, benefits, key operational parameters and the design and safety of related ablation devices. It emphasizes PFA’s potential to enhance both the efficacy and safety of atrial fibrillation treatment and explores future research directions and technological developments.