The scarcity of fresh water resource has become one of the top concerns of modern society. Various water treatment technologies have been developed for the reuse of seawater and capacitive deionization (CDI) holds superior advantages as a promising electrosorption desalination technology. Since electrode material is the key factor in controlling the performance of CDI, recent years have witnessed considerable research progress in the rational design and fabrication of Zn-based MOF-derived carbon materials applied as electrode materials for CDI. In this review, Zn-based MOF-derived carbon materials, including MOF-5 derived carbons, ZIF-8 derived carbons and innovation Zn-based MOF derived carbons, are systematically overviewed based on their MOF template precursors. Among them, ZIF-8 derived carbon electrode materials are summarized in detail and different approaches for the improvement of their CDI performance are particularly discussed. We believe this review could function as a guidance of innovative development of Zn-based MOF-derived carbon materials and provide future directions for further improving their CDI performance.