Abstract: It is an important measure of dealing with environmental pollution problems to scientifically develop pollutant emission standards. The United States, European Union and other developed countries have developed pollutant emission standards suitable for their national conditions and with multiple revisions. In order to learn from the successful experience of pollutant control on the power industry in the developed countries and develop reasonable air pollutant emission standard of thermal power in China, the control process of air pollutants such as SO₂, NO_x and particulate matters from coal-fired power plants and the current existing emission standards and control technologies in China, the US and EU were compared, the status of pollutant control of coal-fired thermal power in China analyzed, and some recommendations provided for the future development of China's coal-fired thermal power plants pollution control policy.