As an ancient model organism for studying molecular mechanisms of photosynthesis, purple bacteria convert solar energy into chemical energy through anoxygenic photosynthesis. The primary reaction of photosynthesis mainly occurs in the LH1-RC core complex, which is composed of light-harvesting antenna complex 1 (LH1) and the reaction center (RC). Recently, structures of various bacterial LH1-RC complexes have been determined with developments of crystallography and cryo-EM techniques, significantly expanding our knowledge of this complex. In this paper, we systematically summarize the recent progress in structural biology research on the LH1-RC core complex from purple phototrophic bacteria, providing valuable insights for the deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms of photosynthesis, improving photosynthetic efficiency, and advancing development and application of artificial photosynthetic systems.