Advanced oxidation technology of persulfate is a new method to degrade wastewater. As the economy progresses and technology develops, increasingly more pollutants produced by the paper industry, printing and dyeing, and the chemical industry are discharged into water, causing irreversible damage to water. Methods and research directions of activation persulfate for wastewater degradation by a variety of iron-based catalysts are reviewed. This review describes the merits and demerits of advanced oxidation techniques for activated persulfate by iron-based catalysts. In order to promote the development of related research work, the problems existing in the current application are analyzed.