Abstract: Petroleum is one of the bases for the survival and development of human society. Petroleum product is an important collector for fine coal flotation. The rapid development of China economy and the energy structure characteristic of " rich coal,poor oil and little gas" result in the high dependence on foreign countries. In order to alleviate the contradiction between energy supply and demand and reduce production cost,the development of new collectors is increasingly urgent. Biodiesel is similar to petrochemical diesel in property,which is renewable and biodegradable,and can be used as a substitute for petroleum products collector. The properties of biodiesel were introduced,and the feasibility of using biodiesel instead of petroleum product collector was analyzed. The main preparation methods of biodiesel were summarized: direct mixing method,hydrolysis method,homogeneous acid-base catalysis method,heterogeneous acid-base catalysis method,enzyme catalysis method,supercritical fluid method,etc. The research progress of biodiesel used as coal slime flotation collector was analyzed,and the comprehensive development trend of biodiesel in the future was put forward. The results show that compared with the traditional diesel collector,biodiesel can be used alone or mixed with petrochemical diesel,which can improve the recovery of clean coal,and can also be used for flotation of other minerals,and has a broad application prospect. In the future,further studies should be carried out on the modification treatment,mechanism research and performance optimization of biodiesel collector,so as to make it more suitable for flotation process. Further efforts should be made in the utilization and deep promotion of by-products to accelerate the sustainable and healthy development of the economy.