Frequent oil spill accidents have seriously harmed the ecological environment. Special wettability materials are widely used in the field of oil-water separation because of their different wettability to oil-water two phases. In this paper, the preparation methods of special wetting oil-water separation materials are briefly introduced. According to the different ways of oil removal, they are divided into filter-type, adsorption-type and selective separation intelligent materials. And introduced in detail the various substrates of filter-type materials, including metal mesh, textiles, polymer membranes, etc., and various substrates of adsorption-type materials such as sand, sponge, foam, and aerogel. Finally, the development of this field is prospected. It is pointed out that special wetting oil-water separation materials must be directed towards green, self healing and multi-functional response.