Abstract: CO₂ capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) has dual significance for solving environmental and energy problems, and is one of the key points to promote the development of low-carbon green economy in China. The conversion of CO₂ to co-production of methanol and ethylene glycol via ethylene carbonate hydrogenation is one of the most promising routes for efficient CO₂ conversion, which has attracted much attention from the academy and industry. In this paper, the hydrogenation of ethylene carbonate and corresponding catalysts were reviewed. This paper specially focused on the research advances in heterogeneous copper-based catalysts as well as their structure-performance relationship, including the effects of surface active sites and morphology, the deactivation mechanisms and the methods used to improve stability. Furthermore, the industrial practice and promising possibilities in catalyst development were proposed.