Protein flocculant is a kind of special polymer material produced by animals, plants or microorganisms, which can make the solid suspended particles in the liquid gather and precipitate. Protein flocculant can be directly used as water purifier in some areas due to its good adsorption and flocculation performance. In recent years, with the rapid development of natural water treatment agents, protein flocculants as efficient, and environmentally friendly flocculants are widely favored by researchers. In this paper, the extraction and purification methods, molecular structure and effective functional groups of protein flocculants were reviewed. The research status, performance and mechanism of protein flocculants for removing emerging pollutants in water were summarized. Finally, the prospect of protein flocculants for removing emerging pollutants from water environment was proposed. Protein flocculants have certain advantages as water treatment agents. In the future, in-depth scientific research on protein flocculants can explore their potential value in removing emerging pollutants in water, thus providing a new way to improve the safety of water environment.