Abstract: In order to meet the needs of the national development, the continuous development of zinc resources has increasingly depleted high-grade ore and produced a large amount of zinc smelting slag. Due to the diverse production methods of zinc, the composition and properties of zinc smelting slag are different. The processing difficulty is also significantly increased. Storage of zinc smelting slag will not only cause serious harm to the surrounding environment, but also cause waste of valuable metal resources. This article summarizes the harm of zinc smelting slag and the current utilization methods, and focuses on the principle advantages and disadvantages and research status of the main treatment processes for recovering valuable metals from zinc smelting slag. Finally, it points out the research direction that can be strengthened in the resource treatment technology of zinc smelting slag.