Abstract: As a nonrenewable national strategic resource, coal has always played the role of acting as a back-up in assuring China′s energy security. However, along with the incessant increase of raw coal treatment rate, the output of coal slime as a by-product of coal washing process is seen to rise correspondingly. As the cake product of filter press features high contents of both moisture and impurities as well as a high viscosity, a higher requirement is thereby placed on the structure of filter cake breaker for enabling it to operate with a higher efficiency and capacity. An introduction is made to the developments of the technologies and breakers in different stages with the emphasis placed on the state-of-the-art of hammer, roll and multi-stage compound-type breakers, together with an comprehensive analysis of the key technologies of these breakers from the perspectives of working principle, structural design and working efficiency. Lastly, the co-authors look ahead to the developing trend of cake breakers in the future.