Abstract: Keratin protein, found abundantly in sheep's wool, human hair and bird feathers, is a potentially useful renewable biopolymer. It contains a variety of functional groups on the backbone and side chains of the proteins, and can separate the toxic pollutants via physisorption or chemisorption mechanisms. It is an ideal material to fabricate bio adsorbent .The preparation methods and principle of keratin based adsorbent and its application in wastewater treatment were reviewed in detail. The adsorption mechanism was revealed . Finally, the problems in the preparation, adsorption and regeneration of keratin based adsorbent and its future development were pointed out.