Magnesium phosphate cement (MPC), a new kind of inorganic cementing material, has some special performances such as rapid setting, fast hardening, and low drying shrinkage, etc. It has been widely used in the fields of repair and rehabilitation of civil structures, dental and bone restoration, stabilization of toxic matter or radioactive waste and treatment of wastewater. However, MPC faces some challenges, including high cost, potentially high energy consumption and high heat releasing, etc. For the sustainable development of MPC, it is urgent to address the above problems. In MPC system, the addition of mineral admixtures can not only decrease the preparation cost, but also greatly improve the setting behavior, mechanical properties, water resistance, etc. Based on various research documents on MPC and mineral admixtures, the influence of mineral admixtures such as fly ash, slag, metakaolin and silica fume on the fluidity, setting time, mechanical properties and durability of MPC were discussed. Then, the modification mechanism of MPC with mineral admixtures was also summarized. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of MPC modified by mineral admixtures were pointed out, and the research direction of MPC modification was prospected according to the actual application requirements.