Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a devastating infectious disease
caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1). Enfuvirtide (T20) is the first
HIV-1 fusion inhibitor for marketing, which plays an important role in AIDS treatment. However,
in the clinical application process, T20 has several drawbacks, such as a high level of development
of drug resistance, a short half-life <i>in vivo</i>, and rapid renal clearance, which severely
limits the clinical application. Therefore, the development of novel fusion inhibitors to address
T20 shortcomings has long been the research hotspot. Short peptides have a long half-life
through modification and a high barrier to drug resistance, which is expected to solve the current
fusion inhibitors dilemma. In this paper, we summarized six emerging R&D strategies for short
peptide-based fusion inhibitors against HIV-1. We hope that this review will provide fresh insights
into the development of novel fusion inhibitors, as well as ideas for other viral fusion inhibitor
discoveries based on the common membrane fusion 6-HB core structure.