Invisible Man was first published in 1952, and was called "an epoch-making novel, which can be said to be an epic of modern African American life". Some major book review newspapers and periodicals, such as The New York Times, New Harmony, new york People, Time and Saturday Review, all spoke highly of this novel and agreed that it has important literary value. Since then, this work has been reprinted dozens of times, even in 1982, it was included in the bestseller list 16 weeks. According to incomplete statistics, it has been translated into at least 15 languages.

Invisible Man 1953 won the National Book Award and the Chicago Defender Award (calling it the best symbol of American democracy). From 65438 to 0965, Book Weekly organized 200 famous writers, critics and editors to vote that Invisible Man was the "best single work" in recent 20 years. 1969, Ellison won the American Medal of Freedom, 1970 won the Knight Medal of French Literature and Art, 1985 won the National Medal of Art, and thus won the honorary degree of 15.

More importantly, American and foreign academic circles agree that Invisible Man is a classic. By the mid-1960s, Invisible Man had been listed as a course of literature or African studies in American universities. After the 1970s, doctoral dissertations about Ellison and Invisible Man appeared constantly, and 1979 began to appear monographs about Ellison. These are the evidences that Invisible Man has become a classic.