High-density aviation fuels are a type of hydrocarbon which are synthesized to improve the flight performance of aerospace vehicles. They have the advantages of high density, high volumetric net heat of combustion value, and can effectively improve the flight performance of vehicles such as range, speed, load, etc. With the decrease of global fossil resources and the continuous deterioration of the ecological environment, the synthesis of high-density aviation fuels from biomass has become a research hotspot. In this review, the research progress in synthesis of multi-cyclic hydrocarbon high-density aviation fuels from platform molecules and derivatives in recent years is discussed. The common C-C bond coupling methods for constructing the multi-cyclic structure are introduced, including aldol condensation reaction, alkylation reaction, aldol-hydrodeoxygenation-alkylation reaction, Diels-Alder reaction, photoinduced 2+2 cycloaddition, rearrangement reaction. The new progress in synthesis of petroleum based high-density aviation fuels or multi-cyclic hydrocarbon mixed fuels from platform molecules is listed. The properties of a large number of multi-cyclic hydrocarbon high-density aviation fuels are summarized, and the influence of molecular structure and composition on fuel properties are discussed. Introduction of the appropriate substituent groups and synthesis of multi-component fuels are the main methods to improve the comprehensive properties of fuels. Synthesis of petroleum-based high-density fuels using platform molecules is another strategy to improve the properties of fuels. Finally, the development trend of synthesis of multi-cyclic hydrocarbon high-density aviation fuels using platform molecules from biomass is prospected.