Abstract: Since its discovery over 200 years ago, lithium has been widely used in fields such as batteries, ceramics, and glass due to its excellent physical and chemical properties. It is known as the “energy metal of the 21st century” and has become a strategic mineral of global concern. In order to clarify the global supply-demand situation of lithium, the paper utilizes descriptive statistical analysis to provide a comprehensive summary of existing research on the utilization, distribution characteristics of resources, supply, consumption, demand forecasting, and substitution of lithium, and draws the following conclusions. The utilization of lithium has shifted from traditional fields such as ceramics to emerging fields such as batteries, with 87% being used for batteries. There are eight major lithium mineralization belts distributed globally, and the distribution of resources mainly concentrated in the “Lithium Triangle” of South America （Chile, Argentina, Bolivia） and Australia. The supply of lithium has undergone an evolution from the hard rock type in North America to the brine type in South America, and then to the hard rock type in Australia and the brine type in South America, more than 40% of the production is concentrated in the top three global enterprises. The lithium terminal consumer market is mainly in China, Europe, and the United States, with Southeast Asia and Africa emerging as new players; the global demand for lithium, represented by China, will continue to grow rapidly in future. In the short term, the supply will be sufficient; but in the long run, demand will exceed supply and the gap between supply and demand is widening. With the development of technology, sodium-ion batteries and vanadium batteries have certain substitutes for lithium batteries, which can partially alleviate the situation of lithium supply shortage. In summary, analyzing the global lithium future of supply and demand from a historical perspective has practical significance for a comprehensive understanding of the importance of lithium, and can provide effective references for strategic research in the lithium industry chain.