Organ transplantation is an effective treatment for end‑stage organ diseases, however the shortage of donor organs is becoming more and more serious. The application of marginal donors is one of the effective ways to expand the donor pool and alleviate the shortage of donor sources for clinical organ transplantation. Because of the poor quality of the marginal donors themselves, it is of great clinical value to improve the preservation strategy of the marginal donors, enhance their quality, and effectively use them. This review aims to summarize the definition, clinical application, and main preservation methods (static cold storage and machine perfusion) of marginal donor organs (including heart, lung, liver, and kidney), to improve the application value and the preservative quality of marginal donor organs.