With the improvement of environmental protection requirements

more and more attentions are paid to the facile treatment of oily waste water. Oil-water emulsion is the main component of oilfield production fluids

and it is also a major difficulty in the treatment of oily wastewater. Untreated oil-water emulsions not only has a fatal impact on the environment and human health

but also causes a large amount of waste of oil resources and economic losses. Therefore

the separation of oil-water emulsions has caused widespread attention. This paper reviews three new types of materials for the treatment of oil-water emulsions: polymer membranes

porous polymer foams

and magnetic nanoparticles. Their preparation

application and advantages in the treatment of oil-water emulsions are also described and discussed in detail. The future trends of the polymeric materials and preparation for effectively treating oil-water emulsions are also prospected.