Abstract: Due to CO_2 produced by large-scale coal combustion aggravates the greenhouse effect,CO_2 capture,utilization and storage(CCUS) is a key technology to achieve large-scale carbon emission reduction at coal-fired power station.CO_2 adsorption by solid materials is considered as a promising carbon capture technology.Among many solid CO_2 adsorbents,MgO is considered as an ideal CO_2 adsorption material because of its high adsorption capacity,low cost,low regeneration energy consumption and wide availability.In this paper,the CO_2 adsorption performance of conventional MgO adsorbents was reviewed.According to the existing problems of CO_2 adsorption by MgO,the methods to improve the CO_2 adsorption performance by MgO were introduced,including the feasible methods such as optimizing the structure and adding alkali metal molten salt.Finally,the advantages and challenges of MgO adsorbents for industrial CO_2 capture were comprehensively analyzed.In addition,the research direction from the aspects of the fabrication strategy of MgO,large-scale molding of MgO pellets and CO_2 capture system design optimization using MgO in the future were prospected.