Graphene possesses a unique structure and excellent characteristic and it has been regarded as a promising adsorbent for water treatment. The characteristic and structure of graphene were introduced, and the adsorption mechanisms of graphene-based materials against various pollutants were discussed in detail. Based on graphene’s characteristic, the modification, composite and research methods for graphene-based materials were well elucidated. In view of the importance of regeneration performance of graphene-based materials, the magnetic and 3-dimensional graphene-based materials were briefly reviewed and finally the future research directions for graphene adsorbents were presented.