At present, public awareness of environmental protection is gradually increasing, leading to a growing focus on water treatment. The application of microbial flocculants in water treatment can effectively treat microorganisms in various types of wastewater, preventing water sources from being severely polluted and causing adverse effects on the natural environment. To clarify the application potential and influencing factors of different types of microbial flocculants in pharmaceutical wastewater of varying properties, this study employed a metaanalysis method to statistically analyze 339 observational results from 30 articles. Factors such as temperature, pH value, coagulants, and flocculants all influence the effectiveness of microbial flocculants in the advanced treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater. Due to the high content of difficult-to-degrade organic matter in pharmaceutical wastewater, achieving compliance with discharge standards through a single method is challenging. In practical applications, microbial flocculants must be used in conjunction with other treatment processes. In the future, flocculant technologies should be integrated to achieve complementary advantages and address increasingly complex water treatment environments.
