Pollution of heavy metals has become a serious environmental problem and it needs to be solved as soon as possible. Diatomite is a kind of biogenic rock and it is siliceous and sedimentary. There is abundant diatomite resource in China. Diatomite has distinctive structure of diatom monoblock. It has strong adsorbability, its specific area is large and it has high porosity. Its surface adheres a lot of active groups and negative charge. Diatomite with proper modification would show outstanding absorption effect of heavy metal ions. This paper reviewed the absorption efficiency of heavy metal ions on diatomite modified by metallic oxide, acids and bases, acticarbon, calcium carbonate and organics, the results would offer references for related researches. At last, this paper takes the outlook for the modified methods and application prospects of diatomite in wastewater treatment of heavy metals.