Pulsed discharge plasma and its application is one of the promising directions in civilian areas of pulsed power technology. In order to promote the research and development of the theory and application technology for pulsed discharge plasma, in this paper, recent progress on the mechanism of nanosecond-pulse gas discharge and the characteristics and applications of typical pulsed plasma at the Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences is reviewed. Firstly, progress on mechanism of nanosecond-pulse discharge based on runaway electrons and measurement technology of runaway electrons is introduced. Then, the characteristics of three typical discharges, including direct-driven pulsed discharge, pulsed dielectric barrier discharge and pulsed plasma jet, are reviewed. Furthermore, typical plasma applications of pulsed plasma on surface modification and methane conversion are presented.