With dual attributes of pollutant and resources, sewage sludge(SS) is the byproduct from wastewater treatment plant, which belongs to typical urban solid waste. The use of SS as raw materials for the synthesis of carbon-based catalysts and their application in water environment catalysis is an implement of sludge reduction and resource reutilization. As SS is a mixture of organic matter from biomass and various inorganic oxides and metal ions, the carbon-based catalyst or carrier prepared from SS has the properties of easy availability of raw materials, strong dispersibility of active components on the carrier, easy adjustment of surface chemical functional groups, and high specific surface area. It is widely used in the field of multiphase Fenton reaction, electrochemical catalytic oxidation, complex photocatalytic reaction, catalytic wet oxidation and catalytic ozonation. This paper will describe the preparation and modification methods of sludge carbon-based catalyst materials. In addition, the mechanism, which carbon-based catalysts participate in pollutant adsorption, electron transfer, and organic degradation in water, is explained by the structure-activity relationship between physico-chemical properties of materials and catalytic action, combined with its application characteristics in the field of water environment catalysis. At the same time, a new prospect is put forward to improve the stability, reusability and catalytic activity of sludge-based materials.