Si has been regarded as one of the most promising next generation lithium-ion battery (LIB) anodes due to its exceptional capacity and proper working voltage. However, the dramatic volume change during lithiation/delithiation processes has caused severe detrimental consequences, leading to very poor cyclic stability. It has been one of the critical problems hampering the practical applications of the silicon based LIB anode. Extensive research has been carried out to resolve the problem since early 1990s. For the first time, the studies on the Si anode in the time frame more than two decades are summarized and discussed in this review with a novel chronicle perspective. Through this article, the evolution of the concept, fundamental scientific and technology development of the silicon LIB anode are clearly presented. It provides unique eyesight into this rapid developing field and will shed light on the future trend of the Si LIB anode research.