The occurrence characteristics of  energy resources in China determine that coal is the main energy in China for a long time in the future.  It is of great significance to the sustainable development of China′s economy and society and the protection of ecological environment by the clean conversion and utilization of coal and the treatment of pollutants in the process of coal conversion. Due to the special reaction conditions of coal chemical industry and many coal conversion processes as well as the unique element composition of coal, cyanide exists in coal gasification gas, pyrolysis tail gas and coke oven gas. The wastewater and washing water produced by coal gasification and coking also contain a certain amount of cyanide, such as hydrocyanic acid (HCN) and cyanogen chloride (CNCl). Hydrocyanic acid (HCN) is a colorless gas with a slight bitter almond flavor and highly toxic compound, which is easy to disperse in the air. Inhalation of high concentration hydrogen cyanide gas in a short time will cause asphyxia and acute poisoning. Cyanogen chloride (CNCl), soluble in water, is also a highly toxic chemical gas. After being inhaled by the human body, it will cause strong irritation to the eyes and respiratory tract and do strong harm to the human body. Due to its chemical properties and high toxicity, the generation of cyanide containing waste gas has brought many hazards to human body and environment. It is urgent to study the adsorption and purification of cyanide containing gas. The methods of purifying gaseous cyano compounds were introduced. At present, the treatment methods of gas pollution sources containing cyanide mainly include absorption method, combustion method, catalytic hydrolysis method, adsorption method and so on. Taking hydrocyanic acid and cyanuric chloride as examples, the sources, treatment methods and common adsorption materials were summarized. The preparation methods and material characteristics of activated carbon, carbon fiber, molecular sieve, metal organic framework and other materials were analyzed. At present, the research on porous material adsorbents mainly focuses on surface modification, so as to increase the contribution of chemical adsorption on the basis of simple physical adsorption, improve the loading and dispersion of active components, and adjust the active sites of surface reaction, which can not only improve the adsorption capacity and performance of activated carbon based adsorbent, but also avoid the desorption of adsorbate caused by weak physical adsorption force. The development trend of cyanide adsorption materials was prospected. The research and development of various materials focus on: Large-scale and low-cost continuous preparation of adsorption materials with uniformity and uniformity, improve the surface reaction activity and structural efficiency of the material, improve the loading capacity and adsorption capacity of active components, and prevent the desorption of gaseous pollutants after adsorption, efficient regeneration of adsorption materials, efficient recycling, avoiding the generation of harmful solid waste, so as to improve the comprehensive performance of adsorption materials.