Rattan is a multi-purpose plant resource in the tropical forest treasure house. With its good technological characteristics, it has become an excellent material for the preparation of industry. The original rattan is an important forest product second only to wood and bamboo. The annual output of the original rattan is millions of tons, which plays an important role in regional economic and social development. Rattan is mainly used for the manufacture of furniture, crafts and accessories, of which >
95 % of the palm rattan is used for the production of furniture. Based on the physical and chemical structure of rattan, this paper discusses the common modification methods such as chemical treatment, bleaching and resin impregnation in recent years in view of the defects of rattan itself. The high value-added materials developed by using rattan as the base material in recent years were further reviewed, including rattan-based porous carbon materials, rattan-plastic composites, rattan-based ceramics, rattan-fiber-based materials and rattan-stem-based composites, aiming to broaden their application fields and promote the development and utilization of rattan resources and industrial development.