The automatic navigation technology of agricultural machinery is the basis for the implementation of precision agriculture, which can effectively reduce the labor intensity of agricultural machinery operators, improve the operation accuracy and efficiency. The classic automatic navigation of agricultural machinery includes three key technologies: positioning and attitude measurement, path planning and motion control. Based on the global navigation satellite system, the inertial navigation system, the machine vision navigation system and the multisensor data fusion algorithms, the methods of agricultural machinery positioning and attitude measurement were introduced firstly, and then the global path and local path planning algorithms in the agricultural machinery automatic navigation system were summarized, and the kinematic models, control methods and actuators for steering and braking were analyzed on agricultural machinery. With the development of information technology, the intelligent navigation technology of agricultural machinery had attracted more and more attention. Ensuring the safety of operation and improving the efficiency of cooperation were the key technologies of intelligent navigation of agricultural machinery different from traditional automatic navigation. LiDAR and RGB camera were taking as examples, the autonomous obstacle avoidance technology of agricultural machinery was analyzed, and the cooperative operation technology of multiple agricultural machinery was expounded, including cooperative mode, the perspectives of communication technology, cooperative controlling and remote management platform respectively. Finally, the future development direction of intelligent navigation technology for agricultural machinery was prospected with the specific example of “Hands Free Hectare” and smart agriculture.