Introduction  To realize the demand of further expanding the thermal power ratio of coal-fired power generating units, coupled waste heat utilization technology combined with the characteristics of the original units has become one of the effective ways. There are great differences in the adaptive characteristics and regulation capacity of the existing waste heat utilization technology.

  Method  Several waste heat recovery and utilization methods were comprehensively reviewed and their principles, advantages and disadvantages were compared. Then the current focus of waste heat recovery technology was further reviewed by introducing common evaluation indicators.

  Result  For waste heat recovery and utilization technology, there are mainly flue gas waste heat recovery, recycling water waste heat recovery, air source waste heat recovery, industrial waste gas recovery, and so on. The temperature ranges are 120～150 ℃, 15～35 ℃, 0～60 ℃, and below 300 ℃, respectively. The evaluation methods of coupled waste heat utilization technology mainly include performance evaluation, economic evaluation, and system parameter correlation evaluation, among which the evaluation parameters such as heat consumption and thermal efficiency are the main ones.

  Conclusion  The development direction and relevant suggestions of waste heat recovery and utilization technology are pointed out. At present, coupled waste heat recovery and utilization technology is mainly used in the heat pump system. Under the demand for a higher thermal power ratio in the future, the low-pressure cylinder transformation technology using cold end waste heat heating will become a major development focus.