Natural phenolic compounds have many physiological functions， so the efficient extraction and separation of natural phenols is the key premise for its further high-efficiency use. In recent years， ionic liquids with unique properties such as high stability， adjustable， and easy recovery have emerged as an emerging green solvent， providing new approaches for the extraction and separation of natural products. In this work， the research progress of selective extraction and separation of natural phenols based on ionic liquids were reviewed. The factors and rules affecting the separation efficiency， such as ionic liquid anion and cation types， hydrophilicity， length of carbon chain， interaction forces between ionic liquids and phenols， were also summarized to provide feasibility basis for the future work in the extraction of natural phenols.