Abstract: In recent years, the escalating global climate change and energy crisis have intensified research into the utilization of carbon dioxide. The activation of CO2 using green hydrogen to produce fuels and chemicals is a pivotal approach to address both hydrogen production and CO2 utilization. Through catalysis, this process can yield essential C1 molecules such as methane, methanol, and carbon monoxide. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) -derived metal metalloids, due to their multiple active sites, high active site surface area, tunable pore structures, regular channels, superior surface acid-base properties, and efficient metal-support interactions, exhibit significant potential in the thermo-catalytic hydrogenation of CO2 to C1 molecules. This paper first reviews the common preparation methods of MOF-derived metal catalysts, demonstrating that chemical modification or structural transformation of MOFs can substantially enhance their performance, presenting broad application prospects in catalysis. Then, it provides a detailed account of the research progress in the hydrogenation of CO2 to synthesize C1 molecules using these catalysts. It illustrates how MOF-derived metal catalysts offer advantages in controlling the size and dispersion of metal nanoparticles, enhancing the activity of metal-oxide interface sites, and preventing aggregation in composite structures. These factors contribute to improved catalytic performance and thermal stability in CO2 hydrogenation. Finally, the paper discusses the reaction pathways for the thermos-catalytic formation of methane, methanol, and carbon monoxide from CO2, highlighting current challenges in catalytic efficiency and stability of MOF-derived metal catalysts, and offers an outlook on future research directions.