Abstract: Frequently occured offshore oil spill accidents pose a serious threat to the ecological environment. The widely distributed clay particles in the ocean have large specific surface area and high adsorption performance, and they can interact with spilled oil to generate Oil-clay aggregates. In this paper, we reviews the research history of oil-clay aggregates, analyzes their formation conditions and influencing factors, discusses the influence of environmental characteristics on the formation of oil-clay aggregates, and summarizes its application in the remediation of oil-spilled beaches and marine oil spills. On this basis, the latest progress of oil spill remediation by clay particles is introduced. This paper is helpful to understand the interaction mechanism between spilled oil and clay particles after entering the sea, and can provide some reference for the use of clay particles to enhance oil spill pollution remediation.