Access control is an important technology for system security, and its mechanism is different for different networks. This paper first introduces the characteristics and applications of three traditional access control policies which are DAC (discretionary access control), MAC (mandatory access control) and RBAC (role-based access control), introduces the UCON (usage control) model, and then analyzes access control technology and current researches in Grid, P2P and wireless environment respectively. In addition, this paper proposes that trustworthy networks as the developing goal of the next generation Internet require using trust-based the access control model to assure security. This paper investigates on the trust and reputation model in detail, and finally gives the prospects of access control.