Abstract: As a clean and renewable energy, solar energy has extremely abundant reserves, and photothermal conversion technology can realize the effective use of solar energy. Solar selective absorption coating is the core of the technology of photothermal conversion. The selective absorption principle of solar selective absorption coatings was briefly explained. The types, preparation methods and current research progress of solar selective absorption coatings were introduced. Finally, the problems that need to be solved at present were put forward, and the future research direction was prospected.