Coal gangue, fly ash, and gasification slag are solid wastes generated from coal mining, chemical conversion, and coal-firedpower generation processes. These wastes have an annual emission of over 1.5 billion tons with a comprehensive utilization rate of about60%. However, their current utilization mainly focuses on low-end construction materials consumption, leading to market saturation. Inlight of impending environmental protection policies, there is an urgent need to develop new methods for resource utilization of coal-basedsolid waste. Due to the cementing properties of coal-based solid waste such as aluminosilicate composition, potential pozzolanic activity,and unique microstructure characteristics, low-cost and high-performance low-carbon cementitious materials have emerged as a promisingavenue for large-scale and high-value utilization. The activation technology and application fields of coal-based solid waste cementitious materials were reviewed and prospected. The impact of physical excitation, alkali excitation, and acid excitation on the mineral phasetransformation of gelled materials and their influence on product properties were elucidated. Furthermore, an overview was provided regarding the merits of existing technologies as well as the challenges that need to be addressed. In terms of application fields analysis includesbuilding materials production road repair environmental remediation among others where coal-based solid waste cementitious materials canbe utilized effectively. Based on the above situation, the future development direction of coal-based solid waste cementitious materialssuch as excitation mechanism research, component ratio optimization, material environmental protection performance, engineering application and promotion were prospected. It has important reference significance for the preparation of cementitious materials from coal-basedsolid waste, and provides a new way for large-scale utilization of coal-based solid waste.