Abstract: The acid and alkali catalysts are used in the traditional homogeneous catalytic technology to prepare biodiesel through the esterification or ester exchange reaction. The process contributes to serious equipment corrosion while bringing a large number of industrial wastewater, resulting in serious environmental pollution and industrial cost increasing. The new catalysts offer some advantages to homogeneous acid catalysts. They are easily automatic continuous production, high yield and under the mild reaction conditions, which have attracted most attention. In this paper, the development trends and application of biodiesel preparation methods at home and abroad were introduced. The novel biodiesel preparation methods including reactive distillation, catalytic membrane reactor, ultrasonic method, microwave method, continuous catalysis method and their application were discussed. Finally, some problems deserving further research and the application prospects of new methods for biodiesel preparation were presented.