In order to reduce the pollution pressure of nitrogen pollutants from human life and industrial productions on natural water body, China government has been constantly raising the standards of total nitrogen emissions from sewage treatment plants in recent years, which poses great challenge to wastewater denitrification technology on performance stability and economical efficiency. Sulfur Autotrophic Denitrification technology, with a distinct advantage on cost, sludge yield and carbon emission while without low carbon nitrogen ratio limitation, has received widespread attention in academia and industry. After long-term research accumulation and engineering practice, Sulfur Autotrophic Denitrification technology has developed and derived a variety of process systems. This paper focuses on the process of autotrophic denitrification system driven by sulfur-based functional materials, systematically reviews the types and properties of functional materials, enriched characteristic functional microorganisms, adaptive process systems and engineering application status. It aims to clarify the research progress and predict the development direction of this technology.