Cultivating top-tier innovative talents is a core demand for China to respond to international scientific and technological competition and realize the strategy of becoming an educational power. In China, general senior high schools serve as a crucial stage for fostering innovative literacy and early identification of talents. However, there exists a profound contradiction between their traditional homogeneous talent cultivation model and the growth laws of top-tier innovative talents. Constructing a school-based student development guidance mechanism for top-tier innovative talents is a core path to resolve this contradiction and deepen the reform of talent cultivation methods in senior high schools. By systematically reviewing relevant domestic and international literature, this paper first elaborates on the research origin from three dimensions: the practical predicament of education, the rigid requirements of policies, and the needs for cultivating top-tier innovative talents. Then, it clarifies and defines core concepts such as “student development guidance mechanism”, “school-based student development guidance mechanism”, and “top-tier innovative talents” theoretically. On this basis, the paper summarizes the current research status at home and abroad from three aspects: connotation analysis, value interpretation, and model construction, and introduces the collaborative theoretical basis supporting this research. Finally, the paper points out three limitations of the current research: insufficient systematic construction, lack of empirical support, and deficiency in international comparison. It also looks forward to future research focusing on practical issues and theoretical construction, aiming to provide theoretical references and practical paradigms for constructing the school-based student development guidance mechanism for top-tier innovative talents.