As the demand for light olefins increases and the oil becomes heavier, higher requirements for catalytic activity, anticoking performance, and stability of catalyst have been brought forward. Basic catalyst has attracted much more attention in recent years due to its excellent performance in heavy oil utilization. This review highlights the research progress of catalytic cracking over basic catalyst for olefin production and heavy oil utilization. The catalytic mechanism along with attractive functions of basic catalyst are summarized. The optimized condition of operation is discussed as well. Several processes and technologies of catalytic cracking over basic catalyst are introduced to advance future development. This review attempts to benefit new researchers in this field by helping them to understand basic-catalyzed cracking characteristics for preparing a suitable catalyst.