Abstract: Quantum network is a network used to process and transfer information by quantum nodes. Quantum information is generated, processed and stored through quantum nodes and transferred by flying qubits through quantum channels. Quantum network is the essential block for long distance quantum communication, scalable distributed quantum computation and simulation of dynamical evolution in quantum multi-body systems. Therefore, quantum network plays a key role in quantum communication, quantum computation and quantum simulation. At present, photons have been recognized as the standard flying qubits to transfer information in the quantum network. Therefore, the selection of a suitable physical system as the quantum nodes and suitable interaction to enhance the interaction between photon-photon, photon-node and node-node is significant important in the research of quantum network. The cold atomic ensemble and cavity QED are two leading candidates for quantum nodes. In this article, we will briefly review some recent progresses in these two systems based on our researches and give a prospective outlook.