Cordierite has the advantages of low thermal expansion coefficient, good thermal shock resistance and high refractoriness, and is widely used in metal smelting, glass, ceramics and other fields. The raw materials of industrial wastes are widely available and cheap. Using industrial wastes to prepare cordierite can not only reduce the cost of raw materials and alleviate the huge consumption of mineral raw materials, but also solve the problem of land occupation and environmental pollution caused by the accumulation of industrial wastes. In this paper, the researches status of high value-added cordierite glass-ceramics, porous ceramics and composite materials prepared from industrial wastes are reviewed. A systematic review is conducted on the research progress of preparing cordierite-based ceramic materials from industrial wastes and the influence mechanism of additives on the preparation of cordierite ceramic materials from industrial wastes. Furthermore, the problems existing in the application of high temperature industrial wastes to prepare cordierite material are summarized, and the directions and ideas for the effective resource comprehensive utilization of high temperature industrial wastes are provided.