Abstract: Porous materials are used widely both in chemical industry and high technology fields，and much attention has been paid to their surface modification. In the last decade，non-thermal plasma （NTP）has been developed rapidly as a technology for surface modification of materials，and has demonstrated great potential in improving physical and chemical properties of the materials without damaging or changing the materials matrix. This paper reviews the research status of the surface modification of porous materials by NTP，and discusses the principles involved in the process. The progress and future directions of surface modification by NTP are also pointed out.