The traditional techniques for treating wastewater contaminated by heavy metals mostly involve chemical precipitation, solvent extraction and adsorption, ion-exchange, chemical precipitation, and membrane separation. The main shortcomings of traditional procedures are low economic efficiency, lack of environmental friendliness, and poor selectivity. Cyclodextrins are artificial compounds that resemble cages. Through host-guest interaction, pollutants can be adsorbed by its stable inner hydrophobic chamber and exterior hydrophilic surface. It is not only inexpensive and environmentally friendly, but also quite selective. The synthesis and application of materials were reviewed, as well as the primary influencing factors, and the reaction principle of cyclodextrin adsorbent materials for better separation of heavy metal ions. And the future trend of discovery was described.