Postoperative pulmonary complication (PPC) is one of the major postoperative complications, that seriously hinders patients' recovery after operation. Tidal volume (VT), as a core parameter in mechanical ventilation, plays an essential role in the occurrence and progression of PPC. In this review, the clinical application of different setting methods of fixed VT and individual VT and their effects on PPC was introduced, to provide a reference for better lung protection in mechanical ventilation patients under general anesthesia and in turn to promote rapid recovery and long‑term prognosis of patients. The tendency of using fixed VT calculated by predicting body weight to using individualized VT adapted to different patients has become more obvious. which has potential for clinical application. At present, there are still only a few studies on the individualized VT, thus more studies are needed for further exploration of the individual VT in the future.