The development of global industries has brought serious problem of water pollution, therefore, the efficient treatment of wastewater containing various kinds of organic and inorganic pollutants is one of the most important research topics. Metal-organic frameworks(MOFs) have been widely applied in many fields, especially in the solid phase adsorption/separation owing to their large surface area, high porosity, ordered structure and tunable porous physico-chemical properties, thermal stability, easy synthesis and abundant open active sites. The functionalization methods of MOFs such as post-synthesis modification, in situ synthesis with linkers containing substituents, and hybridization with specific functional materials could effectively increase the adsorption active sites, thus enhancing the adsorption performance and adsorption selectivity. Compared to MOFs particles, MOFs/polymer composite membranes combine the special structure and physico-chemical properties of MOFs and excellent adsorption/carrier nature of polymer films and thus exhibit extraordinary adsorption/separation performances in the removal of pollutants. In this paper, we focus on the functionalization methods of MOFs which are applied in the adsorption/removal of dyes and heavy metal ions. We also summarize the fabrication technology of MOFs/polymer composite membranes and their applications in the wastewater treatment. Finally, the development direction and research prospect of MOFs-related composite materials are also proposed.