Abstract　 　　
　As well-known, Alfven wave (AW) is ubiquitous low-frequency electromagnetic fluctuation in various astrophysical plasmas and its discovery directly leads to the establishment of a new branch of physics: MagnetoHydroDynamics (MHD). Now it has been extensively recognized that AWs play an important role in the energy transport as well as the dynamical coupling of astrophysical plasmas. AWs usually exist in the state of strong turbulence with a continuous spectrum in the wave-number space. What do happen when the wavelengths of AWs approach to the characteristic scales of plasma particles? Kinetic Alfven wave (KAW) is such short-wavelength AW and first was proposed to heat fusion plasmas in laboratory when it was discovered in 1970’s. Since 1990’s advances in both space- and ground-based experimental techniques have led to a series of great and important progresses in experimental study of KAWs. These experimental studies not only confirmed many essential, significant, and interesting features of KAWs predicted by theories, but also led to the reevaluation of the importance of KAWs in the magneto-plasma dynamics and remotivated studying interest of KAWs in various magneto-plasma phenomena from laboratory to space and astrophysical plasmas. This talk will introduce the basic physics of KAWs, the relevant experimental investigations, and their application in the heating problem of the solar corona.