Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Liu, Zihan, Wang, Yizhen, Wang, Rui, Tang, Xiu, Wu, Sai
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.24468
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866914510724399104
author Liu, Zihan
Wang, Yizhen
Wang, Rui
Tang, Xiu
Wu, Sai
author_facet Liu, Zihan
Wang, Yizhen
Wang, Rui
Tang, Xiu
Wu, Sai
contents Fine-tuning unlocks large language models (LLMs) for specialized applications, but its high computational cost often puts it out of reach for resource-constrained organizations. While cloud platforms could provide the needed resources, data privacy concerns make sharing sensitive information with third parties risky. A promising solution is split learning for LLM fine-tuning, which divides the model between clients and a server, allowing collaborative and secure training through exchanged intermediate data, thus enabling resource-constrained participants to adapt LLMs safely. % In light of this, a growing body of literature has emerged to advance this paradigm, introducing varied model methods, system optimizations, and privacy defense-attack techniques for split learning. To bring clarity and direction to the field, a comprehensive survey is needed to classify, compare, and critique these diverse approaches. This paper fills the gap by presenting the first extensive survey dedicated to split learning for LLM fine-tuning. We propose a unified, fine-grained training pipeline to pinpoint key operational components and conduct a systematic review of state-of-the-art work across three core dimensions: model-level optimization, system-level efficiency, and privacy preservation. Through this structured taxonomy, we establish a foundation for advancing scalable, robust, and secure collaborative LLM adaptation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_24468
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Survey on Split Learning for LLM Fine-Tuning: Models, Systems, and Privacy Optimizations
Liu, Zihan
Wang, Yizhen
Wang, Rui
Tang, Xiu
Wu, Sai
Cryptography and Security
Computation and Language
Distributed, Parallel, and Cluster Computing
Machine Learning
Fine-tuning unlocks large language models (LLMs) for specialized applications, but its high computational cost often puts it out of reach for resource-constrained organizations. While cloud platforms could provide the needed resources, data privacy concerns make sharing sensitive information with third parties risky. A promising solution is split learning for LLM fine-tuning, which divides the model between clients and a server, allowing collaborative and secure training through exchanged intermediate data, thus enabling resource-constrained participants to adapt LLMs safely. % In light of this, a growing body of literature has emerged to advance this paradigm, introducing varied model methods, system optimizations, and privacy defense-attack techniques for split learning. To bring clarity and direction to the field, a comprehensive survey is needed to classify, compare, and critique these diverse approaches. This paper fills the gap by presenting the first extensive survey dedicated to split learning for LLM fine-tuning. We propose a unified, fine-grained training pipeline to pinpoint key operational components and conduct a systematic review of state-of-the-art work across three core dimensions: model-level optimization, system-level efficiency, and privacy preservation. Through this structured taxonomy, we establish a foundation for advancing scalable, robust, and secure collaborative LLM adaptation.
title A Survey on Split Learning for LLM Fine-Tuning: Models, Systems, and Privacy Optimizations
topic Cryptography and Security
Computation and Language
Distributed, Parallel, and Cluster Computing
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.24468