With the development of smart grid and renewable energy generation, silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor devices start to play an increasingly important role in modern power systems because of its superior physical and electrical properties, such as high power semiconductor density, high voltage, high frequency, and high thermal conductivity. In this paper, the status and development of SiC power semiconductor devices is introduced first, the application prospect of SiC power semiconductor devices in modern power systems is then reviewed and some important application fields such as renewable energy generation, VSC-HVDC power transmission, electrical energy routers and solid state circuit breakers are discussed.