Abstract: To apply digital twin technology in all business of rail transit vehicle full lifecycle management, so that the operation efficiency and quality can be further improved. Considering the application situation of digital twin in other industries, from the perspectives of its definition, characteristics and key supporting technologies, application scenarios of digital twin technology in rail transit vehicle industry product research and development, process design, procurement and logistics, production and manufacturing, overhaul and maintenance are expounded. For building rail transit vehicle digital twin in an ideal state, suggestions are put forward from aspects such as developing synergistic application, product configuration management and product health management with MBD (model based definition) technology, and the construction of multi-physical field and multi-disciplinary collaborative simulation.