Abstract: The natural floatability of chalcopyrite and galena is close， and at the same time， some copper ions dissolved from copper minerals during flotation will activate the lead ore. Therefore， the separation of copper sulfide minerals and lead sulfide minerals has always been a difficult point in mineral processing. With the increasing demand for non-metallic metals such as copper and lead， the research and development of high-efficiency separation reagents for copper sulfide and lead sulfide minerals is imminent， and the research work of galena depressants has received more and more attention. The lead depressants commonly used in the separation of copper and lead are introduced from the aspects of inorganic depressants and organic depressants. Commonly used inorganic depressants are mainly sulfite(sulfur dioxide， sulphurous acid)， dichromate， but due to the toxicity of dichromate and environmental pollution， dichromate are gradually being replaced by less chromium and no-chromium processes. Organic depressants depress galena mainly by complexing with activated ions in the slurry， adsorbed on the mineral surface makes the mineral hydrophilic， competing with the collector to adsorb， reducing the adsorption of the collector mineral surface， etc. Organic depressants have been promoted and applied due to low toxicity， high efficiency and low environmental pollution. It is pointed out that the future research direction of copper sulfide lead mineral separation should be strengthen the research on depressants depressing mechanism， reduce the use of dichromate， develop and promote the new， high-efficiency and green depressants.

Key words: Copper-lead separation, Galena, Inorganic depressants, Organic depressant