In recent years, with the increasing harm brought by petroleum based polymers and the proposal of the concepts of "carbon peak" and "carbon neutralization", cellulose microspheres, as a new bio based material, have become a new research hotspot because of their stable chemical properties, large specific surface area, good biocompatibility, wide application fields and low cost, and are expected to be widely used in pollutant adsorption Biotechnology, pharmaceutical engineering, medical engineering and other fields. However, cellulose microspheres also have some disadvantages such as difficult to control accurately and harsh drying conditions. Based on the research of cellulose microspheres in recent years, the preparation mechanism of cellulose microspheres was introduced, the influence of modification methods on the different functions of cellulose microspheres was explored, the common applications of cellulose microspheres were summarized, and the development trend of cellulose microspheres in the future was reviewed.