Saline-alkaline soil is an important reserve resource of arable land in our country. Saline-alkaline soil management and agricultural utilization play an important role in ensuring the absolute safety of rations, maintaining the stability of existing arable land, and adhering to the safety bottom line of basic food self-sufficiency. Biochar, which is an environmentally friendly soil amendment, has a great prospect in promoting the sustainable development of agriculture. However, most of the existing researches focused on the improvement effect of biochar in neutral and acidic soil, and lacked of in-depth research and systematic summary on the improvement effect of biochar in saline-alkaline soil. This article comprehensively analyzed the research progress of biochar in physical properties, chemical properties, nutrient utilization and microorganisms in saline-alkaline soil, summarized the possible mechanism of biochar in saline-alkaline soil amelioration. The application prospect of biochar was prospected in order to provide reference for ecological management of saline-alkaline soil.