This paper provides a review of the compact intense electron-beam accelerators (IEBAs) based on liquid pulse forming lines (PFLs) that have been developed at the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) in China. The history and roadmap of the compact IEBAs used to drive high-power microwave (HPM) devices at NUDT are reviewed. The properties of both de-ionized water and glycerin as energy storage media are presented. Research into the breakdown properties of liquid dielectrics and the desire to maximize energy storage have resulted in the invention of several coaxial PFLs with different electromagnetic structures, which are detailed in this paper. These high energy density liquid PFLs have been used to increase the performance of IEBA subsystems, based on which the SPARK (Single Pulse Accelerator with spark gaps) and HEART (High Energy-density Accelerator with Repetitive Transformer) series of IEBAs were constructed. This paper also discusses how these compact IEBAs have been used to drive typical HPM devices and concludes by summarizing the associated achievements and the conclusions that can be drawn from the results.