Bioleaching technology is effective to treat low-grade ore.The shortage of mineral resources of non-ferrous metals and the actual situation of mineral resources with low grade in China are investigated.It is suggested that bioleaching technology could be an important approach to enhance the recovery of mineral resource and to alleviate the resource shortage in China.The development of bioleaching technology is reviewed,and its industrial application in copper,gold and cobalt mine at home and abroad is summarized.The main problems faced by bioleaching have been analyzed.The seed selection of microbes for bioleaching and its biology,the interaction mechanism of ore-solution-bacterial,seepage character of granular ore and solute transport in granular ore pile,and heap bioleaching technology have been regarded as the directions of theoretical research and development for ore bioleaching.