The surface reactions of sulfide minerals include surface oxidation, surface dissolution and surface adsorption. The release, adsorption and desorption of heavy metal elements from tailing are determined by the mechanism of the surface reactions of sulfide minerals. The contamination degree resulting from tailing is related to the surface reaction rate of sulfide minerals. Therefore, the studies of sulfide surface reactions are very important in the environmental evaluation and remediation of mines. This paper elaborates the research status of such sulfide surface reactions as reaction mechanism, surface structures, surface sites, reaction products and reaction rate, and deals with the progress of its application to mine environment. Some problems to be solved in the future study are also pointed out.