As an important technology for drinking water safety guarantee, membrane separation has its promising application prospects in drinking water treatment. Due to relatively low fabrication cost, polymeric membrane has been widely studied and used in membrane separation technology for drinking water treatment. However, some disadvantages limit its further application, including poor physical, chemical and thermodynamic stability and short lifespan. Therefore the study of ceramic membrane with prominent material advantages becomes especially important. In this review, the classification and characteristics of ceramic membrane were introduced firstly; then the mechanisms of filtration and membrane fouling were analyzed, and the research progress of ceramic membrane technology, combined process of pretreatments and ceramic membrane, and surface modification technology for ceramic membrane in drinking water treatment were discussed; further the prospect of ceramic membrane technology in drinking water treatment was presented. The optimization of preparation technology, enhancement of the study of mechanisms for membrane fouling and pretreatments, and the optimization of hybrid processes are becoming important research directions of ceramic membrane technology for drinking water treatment.