Chiral pyridinone scaffolds widely exist in natural products and biologically active small molecules. Therefore, asymmetric catalytic synthesis with higher efficiency of these chiral compounds is of great importance, which has got significant improvement in this field recently.We reviewed the recent progress of asymmetric synthesis of dihydropyridinones through asymmetric cycloaddition reactions, compared the common points and differences between Aza⁃Diels⁃Alder reactions and [3 + 3] cycloadditions. The detailed catalytic mechanisms and advantages of these reactions were discussed, and the tendency of future development was also prospected.