The flame arrestor is an critical mean to ensure the safety of fuel system for aircraft, which can prevent the external flame from propagating into the fuel tank. In order to meet the development of large civil aircraft in China, the demand for its performance research and design is increasing day by day. Therefore, based on the historical development and previous research, this paper introduces the basic principles of flame arrestors, and analyzes the structural characteristics and installation requirement of flame arrestors in airborne environment. Then, on the basic of research results of quenching length and quenching diameter, the design criteria of element size was discussed. Based on the Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circular AC25.975 and the Society of Automotive Engineers(SAE) Design Specification ARP5776, the solutions of flame propagation test and flame holding test were presented to provide reference for the performance demonstration method of flame arrestors. Finally, the pressure drop requirement and environmental adaptation requirement were stated briefly.