Abstract: Electrolytic manganese slag, a kind of filtered acid residue produced in the process of electrolytic manganese production, contains large amounts of hazardous substances. The rapid development of the electrolytic manganese industry has produced a large number of manganese slags, which have caused serious environmental problems. The treatment and disposal of electrolytic manganese slag has become a research hotspot in the fields of electrolytic manganese production and environmental protection. Based on the analysis of manganese slag characteristics, the present study summarized the current domestic and international situation regarding the comprehensive utilization of electrolytic manganese slag. The main applications of manganese slag were discussed as follows: recovering valuable metal, building material products, and agriculture and road materials. The pros and cons, applied prerequisites and research advances of each utilization method of manganese slag were discussed and analyzed. According to paractical problems for cyclic utilization of manganese slag, the following principles were proposed for utilization study on electrolytic manganese slag: low cost, large market demands and high added value. In addition, the future research directions of electrolytic manganese slag as road or construction materials were pointed out.