Ceramic membranes have been used in many fields because of their high mechanical strength, high temperature resistance, good chemical stability, controllable pore size distribution, good regeneration performance and environmental friendliness. However, their high production cost result in a low market. In addition, ceramic membranes also suffer contradiction between high permeability and high selectivity, which limits their large-scale application. Researches on reducing production cost and improving the performance of asymmetric ceramic membranes by using cheap raw materials, adding sintering additives and optimizing preparation process were summarized. Meanwhile, the advantages and disadvantages of relevant methods on ceramic membranes were analyzed. Moreover, the future development and application prospect of ceramic membranes were given as well.