Given their high theoretical energy density and environment compatibility, lithium-air batteries have been considered as possible alternatives to current vehicles-used Li-ion batteries. Currently lithium-air batteries still have quite a few problems and challenges to overcome, as for cathode electrodes, the development of lithium-air battery technology is hindered by air electrode with improved activity. Thus, the preparation of the high-efficiency cathode materials is still challenging. As one of the most attractive cathode materials for lithium-air batteries, carbon-based catalysts(cathode materials) have received extensive attention and research in recent years. In this paper, based on the comprehensive analysis of our group’s achievements, the recent progress of cathode catalyst for non-aqueous lithium-air batteries is briefly introduced, including porous carbon-based materials, graphene-based materials, and doped carbon materials. In every section, we also attempt to propose the future development of carbon-based cathode materials for the next stage.