Abstract: As an important rare metal mineral, zirconium is widely used in modern ceramics, special glass, nuclear energy industry and other strategic emerging industries. China has become the world's largest consumer of zirconium sand, but there are many problems in the process of development and utilization of zirconium resources, such as insufficient recoverable reserves and over-dependent on imports, its resource safeguard form is not optimistic. Zirconium resources in the world are distributed unevenly and rarely concentrated, resulting in gaps between supply and demand of them. In pursuit of the sustainable development of zirconium industry in China, the paper puts forward some suggestions on sustainable development, such as taking a foothold in China, co-exploring oversea resources, accelerating the adjustment of industrial structure and increasing the strategic reserve.