Marine biogenic reefs are three-dimensional reef structures formed by the aggregation of reef-building organisms and bonding organisms, which change the seabed topography, increase the complexity of the terrain at different scales, and provide habitats for other marine organisms and maintain biodiversity in the ocean. In recent years, due to the influence of natural and human factors, marine biogenic reefs have been seriously threatened and become important research objects in the field of marine ecological protection and restoration. In this paper, recent researches on types, ecological functions and ecological restoration of marine biogenic reefs were reviewed. According to the dominant reef-building organisms, marine biogenic reefs were divided into seaweed reefs (mainly coralline algae reefs and Halimeda reefs), sponge reefs (mainly calcareous sponge-reefs and siliceous sponge-reefs), cnidaria reefs (mainly coral reefs), shellfish reefs (mainly oyster reefs), and polychaete reefs (mainly Serpulid reefs). Correspondingly, the dominant reef-building organisms were coralline algae and Halimeda, calcareous sponges and siliceous sponges, reef-building corals, oysters and calcareous tube worms. At present, there is relatively little comprehensive understanding of marine biogenic reefs in China, mainly focusing on coral reefs and oyster reefs. The ecological functions of marine biogenic reefs mainly included coastal protection (e.g., wave-energy dissipation, wave elimination and shoreline protection from erosion), habitat provision (e.g., providing foraging habitat, spawning grounds, nursery grounds and shelter), water purification (e.g., reducing the concentration of suspended particulate matter, phytoplankton, organic debris and heavy metals), carbon sequestration and energy coupling (e.g., calcification and biodeposition). Global climate change such as global warming and ocean acidification, as well as natural and anthropogenic factors such as marine pollution, destructive fishing, coastal engineering, aquaculture and predators, posed serious threats to marine biogenic reefs. Once damaged, structures and functions of marine biogenic reefs are destroyed to some extent. If they are not repaired in time, they will degrade or even diminish. Currently, there are two types of ecological restoration methods for marine biogenic reefs: one is to put reef-building organisms in the degraded biogenic reef areas, and artificially create good living conditions for them to gradually gather into reefs; the other is to put artificial reefs made of concrete and environmental- friendly materials to induce gregarious larvae of reef-building organisms to settle and gather, that is, recruit reef-building organisms to form reefs gradually. In short, there are two ways to restore marine biogenic reefs: to put reef-building organisms in degraded biogenic reef areas to form reefs gradually or to put artificial reefs to recruit reef-building organisms to form reefs gradually. In view of the needs of the protection and restoration of marine reefs, we assume that it is significant to strengthen research on the ecological characteristics of marine reef-building organisms, the factors of population loss of marine reef-building organisms and the basic theory of marine reef protection and restoration in the future.