Phosphorus is a nutrient element essential to plant growth and a key one linking biological and abiotic interactions in ecosystems. An in-depth knowledge of sorption mechanism of phosphate on mineral surface is helpful to understanding the speciation, translocation, transformation, and bioavailability of phosphate in terrestrial and aquatic environments. In this paper, a review is presented of progresses in researches on phosphate sorption on mineral surface and its mechanism. Various analytical techniques or methods, such as quantitative analysis of OH- released, Zeta potential measurement (electrophoretic mobility measurement), isothermal titration calorimetry, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, surface complexation model, and quantum chemical calculation have been used to analyze adsorption mechanism of phosphate on mineral surface from different angles. Adsorption of phosphate on the surface of minerals (e.g., iron and aluminum oxides) is usually accompanied by exchange of aqueous and hydroxyl groups. It is generally believed that phosphate mainly forms bidentate binuclear, monodentate mononuclear inner-sphere complexes on the surface of minerals, which is greatly affected by pH. Both pH and adsorption density of phosphate on the surface of minerals affect its protonation state. Under special conditions (i.e., low pH, high phosphorus concentration, high reaction temperature, long adsorption duration, and adsorption by weak crystalline mineral), phosphate adsorbed on the surface of minerals may transform into phosphate-containing surface precipitates, thus resulting in mineral dissolution and conversion, and further decrease of phosphate bioavailability. In the end, prospects are discussed about hot spots and orientation of future researches related to phosphate sorption on the surface of minerals.