The upgrade and development of manufacturing industry makes predictive maintenance more and more important, but the traditional predictive maintenance can not meet the development needs in many cases. In recent years, predictive maintenance based on digital twin has become a research hotspot in the manufacturing industry field. Firstly, this paper introduces the general methods of digital twin technology and predictive maintenance technology, analyzes the gap between them, and points out the importance of using digital twin technology to realize predictive maintenance. Secondly, this paper introduces the predictive maintenance method based on digital twin (PdMDT), introduces its characteristics, and gives its differences from traditional predictive maintenance. Thirdly, this paper introduces the application of this method in intelligent manufacturing, power industry, construction industry, aerospace industry, shipbuilding industry, and summarizes the latest development in these fields. Finally, the PdMDT puts forwards a reference framework in manufacturing industry, the framework describes the specific implementation process of equipment maintenance, and gives an example of industrial robot using the framework, and discusses the limitations, challenges and opportunities of the PdMDT.