Abstract: The lithium-ion battery has a wide range of applications for its excellent performance. However, the abandoned used lithium-ion battery is also increasing. Without effective treatment, spent lithium-ion batteries will bring great pressure to the environment by wasting resources. This article introduces the major constituent of the lithium-ion battery and necessity of recycling. This paper also introduces in detail the current methods for valuable resource recovery from cathode materials of spent lithium-ion battery. Finally, the problem in the recovery of spent lithium-ion battery is proposed and the future development direction of spent lithium-ion battery is prospected. From the perspective of economy and environmental protection, spent battery material process is most likely to become future research focus.