Nitrate concentration in the environment has increased due to human industrial and agricultural activities, and the use of electrocatalytic technology to reduce nitrate to ammonia is in line with the "two-carbon" policy, which achieves the dual purpose of nitrate pollution removal and ammonia preparation. The paper reviews the reaction mechanism of electrocatalytic nitrate reduction by copper-based materials and analyses the origin of the advantageous properties of different copper-based catalytic materials from the perspective of the reaction mechanism. The performance of different copper-based catalytic materials for nitrate reduction of ammonia synthesis is summarised around the analysis of a large number of research examples of copper monoatoms, monometallic copper, copper-based alloys, copper-based oxides and copper-metal organic frameworks. By analysing the influencing factors on nitrate reduction of copper-based materials, the current problems are discussed with a view to providing reference for the development and practical application of electrocatalytic nitrate reduction of ammonia from copper-based catalysts in the future.