In order to break through the bottlenecks of high energy consumption, high carbon emissions and intermittent production of traditional magnesium smelting processes, the global progress of magnesium smelting technology is systematically reviewed, the technical characteristics of electrolysis and heat reduction (Pijiang method, aluminothermy, carbon thermal method, etc.) are focused, and the industrialization feasibility, energy consumption level and environmental benefits of 14 innovative processes are deeply evaluated. The results show that the Pijiang method accounts for more than 80% of the global primary magnesium production (90% in China), but its calcination-pelletizing-reduction-refining process has high energy consumption defects. The compound reaction technology has reduced the energy consumption per ton of magnesium to 3 tce (a decrease of 50% ), and the daily production capacity of a single furnace has reached 40～50 t. The high-value magnesium-aluminum spinel produced by the aluminothermy reduces the reaction temperature by more than 100°C . The electric internal heating vertical furnace technology improves the purity of crude magnesium to 99.9% ; most innovative technologies are limited by engineering challenges such as high-temperature seal stability, continuous collection and anti-oxidation control. The results can provide key reference for low-carbon transformation, process upgrading and lightweight application in strategic emerging fields of magnesium smelting industry.