Mobile applications, a new computing mode that has emerged in the past decade, significantly impact people’s lifestyles. Mobile applications primarily interact through graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and conducting manual testing for them requires significant manpower and material resources. In response to this, researchers propose automated GUI test generation techniques for mobile applications to enhance testing efficiency and detect potential defects. This study collects 145 relevant papers and systematically sorts out, analyzes, and summarizes existing work. This study proposes a research framework called “Test Generator-Test Environment” to categorize research in this domain based on the modules to which it belongs. Particularly, this study classifies existing methods roughly into five categories according to the methods on which the test generator is based: random-based, heuristic-search-based, model-based, machine-learning-based, and test-migration-based approaches. Furthermore, this study analyzes and discusses existing methods from other classification dimensions, such as defect categories and test action categories. Additionally, influential datasets and open-source tools in this field are compiled. Finally, this study summarizes the current challenges and provides an outlook on future research directions.