Abstract: The grade of rare earth in rare earth-containing phosphorite is low in nature, but its reserves are abundant, which offer a high potential for exploitation. Limited to occurrence state of rare earth, crystal structure, and the current scientific and technological level, the industrial recovery of rare earth from phosphorite has not been realized till now. This paper systematically summarized the different methods of concentration and separation of rare earth from phosphorite, and pointed out the bottlenecks that limiting the utilization of rare earth-containing phosphorite resource. Furthermore, the possible technologies for recovery were introduced. The solutions to key issues of concentration and separation will provide more new approaches for the development and utilization of rare earth resource.