The actors in the economy, especially the small ones, if they operate alone when participating in production and business activities, they are often disadvantaged and suffer many disadvantages. Therefore, with a developing economy like Vietnam, the cooperative economic model has become an effective model to help improve the competitiveness of small economic entities in Vietnam, especially the household economic model. This study aims to synthesize some theoretical issues on cooperative economic development in Vietnam. The author mentions a number of contents related to the theory of the cooperative economic model, the role of cooperatives in the economy, the reality of cooperative economic development in Vietnam in recent years, past and existing difficulties in cooperative economic development. The study will contribute to the theoretical basis for the development of cooperative economy in the coming time.