Graphene and its derivatives are potential flame retardant materials with good flame retardant performance; in particular, graphene as an adjuvant in combination with inorganic nanomaterials may be a promising candidate of flame retardant. This review describes the flame retardant mechanism, the development trend, and the classification of graphene-based flame retardants. It points out that graphene has attracted intensive interests in the fields of electronics, energy, and information, due to its excellent properties such as high thermal conductivity, good electron transport ability, and large specific surface area. In the meantime, graphene can change the pyrolysis as well as the thermal conductivity, heat absorption, viscosity and dripping of polymer during the combustion process. In other words, graphene can improve the thermal stability of polymer and delay its ignition, and it can also inhibit fire from spreading and reduce heat release rate.