Copper is widely used in industry because of its excellent physical and chemical properties.At present, with the depletion of copper sulfide resources, the development and utilization of copper oxide resources has gradually become the focus of research. As an important source of copper metal extraction, the key to efficient recovery of copper oxide ore is the activation process. However, the existing copper oxide resources have the characteristics of high oxidation rate, complex mineral composition and easy sludge, which makes the beneficiation more difficult. The classical sulfidization-xanthate flotation method can't meet the current requirements of complex copper oxide ore resource separation. In addition, the mechanism of activator acting on mineral surface and the unclear explanation of crystal structure of activated products restrict the development of the theory and method of copper oxide ore separation to some extent. In recent years, a variety of new activators or combination activators have been reported in reference for the complex and difficult-to-beneficiated copper oxide resources. Scholars have made a deeper research and elaboration on the activation mechanism of copper oxide ore based on the existing activation theory, and put forward a variety of effective and practical new theories and methods, which have solved the problem of complex copper oxide ore beneficiation to some extent. In this review, by combing the development of activator for copper oxide ore in recent years, the application and activation mechanism of new activator and new activation method are summarized, aiming at enriching the theoretical system of efficient flotation of copper oxide ore and providing reference for production practice.