With the popularity of electronic equipment and the rapid rise of electric vehicle industry, lithium-ion battery, as a source of energy, plays an important role. The production and sales of lithium-ion batteries represented by lithium cobalt oxide, lithium iron phosphate and ternary cathode materials are increasing. At the same time, in order to provide longer life and stability, the research of novel lithium-ion battery cathode materials is also advancing. In this context, the failure mechanism, and recycling of lithium-ion battery cathode materials becomes more and more important. How to solve the problem of waste lithium-ion battery treatment in the downstream is gradually put on the agenda. Based on this, this paper introduces the recycling and regeneration process of spent lithium-ion battery cathode materials from the perspectives of hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy, including the optimization of recycling conditions, novel recycling methods and the performance of recycled materials, and summarizes the influence of impurity elements in the recycling process, including aluminum, copper and other elements on the structure and performance of recycled materials Finally, the methods of lithium-ion battery recycling are summarized and prospected.