Attapulgite is a rod like silicate clay minerals with a 2:1 type chain layered nanostructure, and the length of rod crystal is 0.5-5.0 μm. It is a non-renewable natural nanomaterial. The layered crystal structure of the attapulgite chain endows it with special physical and chemical properties, including adsorption, colloidal, and cation exchange properties. Attapulgite is widely used in agriculture, environmental protection, chemical industry, and other fields due to its superior properties. The breakthrough in key common technologies for the dissociation of crystal beams in palygorskite rods enables the expansion of palygorskite from conventional applications to high-tech applications. Attapulgite as a non-toxic natural mineral material has good biocompatibility, abundant reserves, and low price. It has an enormous application potential in the field of high value-added biopharmaceuticals. This review summarized recent research work on the application, the structure and properties of attapulgite. The first part summarized the research progress of the application of attapulgite in the field of biological antibacterial, elaborated on the possible antibacterial mechanisms of attapulgite composite antibacterial materials, compared the preparation methods and antibacterial properties of different attapulgite based composite antibacterial materials, and gave that one of the research hotspots for attapulgite based composite antibacterial materials is to explore a simple and green preparation method. The second part summarized the application of attapulgite in the field of feed additives, represented the preparation of three different attapulgite based feed additives and their respective advantages and disadvantages, and pointed out that the relevant products are used in production practice, and listed some typical production process diagrams of the products. The third part represented the application of palygorskite in drug carriers. Attapulgite based drug carriers are mainly in the form of hydrogels and nanofibers. At present, there is no research on the application of attapulgite based drug carriers in vivo. The main reason is that the safety of palygorskite in vivo is unknown, and it is also stable, making it difficult to enter the blood and urinary circulation system as a drug carrier. However, the prepared attapulgite sustained-release tablets can be discharged through the digestive system and have great application prospects. The fourth part represented the application of attapulgite in composite scaffold materials. Although attapulgite based composite scaffold materials have a good osteogenic induction in vitro, their osteogenic induction in vivo is still unclear, and the mechanism of osteogenic induction in vitro is still unclear. The fifth part summarized the application of attapulgite in wound healing. Attapulgite based wound dressings have a good usability. Mixed dimensional attapulgite seems to have better usage effects and is expected to become a novel generation of hemostatic materials. Summary and prospects 1) In the future, it is necessary to accelerate the technological research on the full dispersion of attapulgite single crystals. Also, there is still a room for progress in the surface modification technology of attapulgite based composite antibacterial materials. The more attention should be paid to green and simple physical modification technologies, which can improve the production efficiency, and reduce the environmental pollution and costs. 2) Further research should be conducted on the application of palygorskite as a drug carrier on the body surface and digestive system, and pathways and methods suitable should be found to enable palygorskite to undergo harmless degradation in the blood and urinary systems. 3) It is necessary to accelerate the research on surface modification technologies of palygorskite, and make palygorskite based wound dressings into a form similar to gauze, which can to some extent reduce the risk of its entry into the blood system. 4) The practical application of attapulgite in the field of biomedicine is still relatively limited. In the future, we should accelerate the clinical research of attapulgite in the field of biomedicine, while still expanding the research of attapulgite in the field of biomedicine practice. For instance, we could use attapulgite to adsorb the metabolite of cholesterol-bile acid-to treat hypertension and hyperlipidemia. The adsorption of palygorskite is used to regulate the intestinal flora and interfere with the occurrence of type 2 diabetes. It is possible for the treatment of tumors to utilize the stability and biocompatibility of attapulgite to prepare high-performance drug loaded microspheres for embolization. The antibacterial and biocompatibility of attapulgite are also utilized to prepare alternative products for orthopedics and dentistry. This review provided a reference for the application research of attapulgite in the field of biomedicine.