This article presents a comprehensive survey of consortium blockchain and its applications. It discusses the architecture, consensus mechanisms, and performance of consortium blockchain platforms, as well as their use in various domains. The paper introduces a layered architecture for consortium blockchain, including hardware, network, data, consensus, smart contract, and application layers. It also highlights the core functionalities of consortium blockchain, such as robust storage and guaranteed execution, and explores several typical decentralized application scenarios enabled by consortium blockchain. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding the architecture and design of consortium blockchain to address challenges and improve its performance. The paper also discusses the potential research directions for future work in consortium blockchain, including balancing decentralization and performance, designing provably secure protocols, and enhancing scalability and efficiency. The survey aims to systematize the knowledge of consortium blockchain, highlight unsolved challenges, and suggest future research directions.This article presents a comprehensive survey of consortium blockchain and its applications. It discusses the architecture, consensus mechanisms, and performance of consortium blockchain platforms, as well as their use in various domains. The paper introduces a layered architecture for consortium blockchain, including hardware, network, data, consensus, smart contract, and application layers. It also highlights the core functionalities of consortium blockchain, such as robust storage and guaranteed execution, and explores several typical decentralized application scenarios enabled by consortium blockchain. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding the architecture and design of consortium blockchain to address challenges and improve its performance. The paper also discusses the potential research directions for future work in consortium blockchain, including balancing decentralization and performance, designing provably secure protocols, and enhancing scalability and efficiency. The survey aims to systematize the knowledge of consortium blockchain, highlight unsolved challenges, and suggest future research directions.