Efficient activation of tailings for the production of supplementary cementitious materials（SCM） is of grest significance for solving the problem of mine environmental pollution and developing low-carbon cementitious materials. The relationship between mineralogical attribute， activation method， activation mechanism and performance of SCM prepared by tailings were summarized and evaluated. The activation rule and mechanism of minerals were comprehensively reviewed in a mineralogy viewpoint by chemistry， physics， and surface chemistry. Additionally， a new method was provided to evaluate SCM from tailing based on attribute analysis of tailiings, providing theoretical and methodological support for the preparation of SCM from tailings.