Bismuth ferrite is a perovskite-type semiconductor photocatalyst, which is favored due to its proper optical band gap, good chemical stability and visible light absorption. However, the photogenerated electron-hole pair recombination rate of bismuth ferrite is high, and the carrier efficiency is low, which leads to the weakening of photocatalytic activity and limits its practical application. In this paper, based on the overview of the structure and photocatalytic mechanism of bismuth ferrite,the mechanism and research progress of bismuth ferrite modification methods such as precious metal deposition, semiconductor compounding, and metal ion doping are emphaticallyreviewed, and the future research directions of bismuth ferrite photocatalysts are discussed.