Abstract: In order to explore the application prospect and development trend of rare earth in EAF steelmaking, the current status and existing challenges were systematically reviewed, and the effects of rare earth on inhibiting residual harmful elements, controlling nitrogen content, modifying inclusions and improving product performance were emphatically analyzed. Research indicates that as a typical steel scrap centralized smelting process, green and low-carbon EAF steel faces quality issues such as excessive residual harmful elements, high nitrogen content and excessive inclusions, which have become the major bottleneck restricting its production of high-quality steel. Rare earth elements, with their active chemical properties, low addition amount and remarkable effect, can be used as an ideal additive for enhancing the quality of EAF steel products. In the future, the action mechanism of rare earth in EAF steel should be studied in depth from the micro-scale, the quantitative relationship between rare earth and steel properties should be clarified, the varieties of rare earth steel should be broadened, and the technical obstacles affecting the application of rare earth in EAF steelmaking should be solved, so as to elevate China's technical level of rare earth material manufacturing.

Key words: rare earth; EAF steelmaking; residual harmful elements; nitrogen content; steel scrap