Abstract: The current use of antibiotics at home and abroad, the pollution in the water environment, the main sources and the risk assessment methods of antibiotics were summarized based on a literature review of the studies on antibiotics by different scholars in the past ten years. The results showed that the types of antibiotics in the water environment mainly included quinolones, sulfonamides, macrolides and tetracyclines. Compared with foreign countries, the types of antibiotics detected in rivers and lakes in China were more abundant, and the pollution situation was more complicated. There were certain differences in the main pollution types of antibiotics in inland and coastal water. The main sources of antibiotics in the water environment were urban sewage plant effluent, medical wastewater, livestock and poultry breeding and aquaculture wastewater. At present, a corresponding evaluation index system had been established for single pollution sources and mixed pollution sources in water bodies and sediments, but the toxicological data, evaluation methods and influencing factors urgently needed to be improved. It was recommended to strengthen the source control of antibiotics, enhance the wastewater treatment plant process and improve the risk assessment system.