Compared with voice,touch and other forms of Natural User Interaction (NUI) input,in-air gesture involves many more issues to consider,such as cultural and individual differences,communication and everyday behavior-based meaning,action range for gesture detection,etc.When using in-air gesture in controlling in-car devices and interfaces,constraints of the car interior space,driving safety,and other car HMI specific issues also need to be considered.We present in this paper a survey of existing studies from general subject of gesture taxonomy and modeling to HCI and car HMI related topics.Hope this could serve as a consolidated reference providing designers and researchers with a clear overview of how those complex issues of using in-air gesture in car HMI are tackled in existing research.