Due to mercury pollution and its shortage resources, the research and development of novel, eco-friendly and efficient mercury-free catalysts for acetylene hydrochlorination is the key to realize the green and sustainable development of polyvinyl chloride industry. Nitrogen-containing carbon materials with excellent performance as catalyst supports provide a new idea for the research of mercury-free catalysts for acetylene hydrochlorination, which is also one of the research hotspots in this field. In this work, the application of nitrogen-containing carbon materials in acetylene hydrochlorination reaction are summarized and the research directions in the future of N-containing carbon materials in acetylene hydrochlorination are discussed.