Abstract: Coal gangue is one of the solid wastes with the largest generation and accumulation in coal mining and washing processes. Long-term stockpiling may induce land occupation, weathering and disintegration, leachate pollution, spontaneous combustion, and landscape degradation. In cold and arid mining areas, low precipitation, strong evaporation, scarce topsoil, freeze-thaw disturbance, and slow ecological recovery impose higher requirements on regional adaptability, process stability, and long-term safety. This review summarizes recent progress in the soil-forming utilization of coal gangue and ecological restoration in cold and arid mining areas, focusing on moisture retention and redistribution, freeze-thaw weathering, mineral transformation, microbial colonization, vegetation establishment, and pollutant stabilization. It further clarifies that the water-pore structure acts as the primary controlling factor for process initiation, freeze-thaw weathering and mineral transformation determine the formation of soil-like substrates, biological processes govern functional maintenance, and pollutant release and stabilization define the safety boundary. Major technical pathways, including planting substrates, artificial soils, in-situ pedogenesis, integrated covering-isolation-backfilling, participatory soil reconstruction in alpine areas, and synergistic use of multiple solid wastes, are compared with typical domestic and international cases. The review concludes that the core of coal gangue utilization in cold and arid mining areas is no single-material substitution but a closed-loop framework of zoning adaptation, profile configuration, biological establishment, and risk monitoring based on climate zones, site constraints, material properties, and restoration targets. Future studies should test verifiable hypotheses concerning water thresholds, dual effects of freeze-thaw on soil formation and pollutant release, delayed biological compensation, and cross-regional transferability of adaptation parameters, so as to develop replicable,early-warning-capable, and scalable ecological restoration models for mining areas.