Review on nickel-based adsorption materials for Congo red

•Nickel-based adsorbents show remarkable potential in CR adsorption.•Recent studies on CR adsorption by using nickel-based adsorbents are introduced.•The mechanisms of CR adsorption onto nickel-based adsorbents are summarized.•The effective regeneration of nickel-based adsorbents requires further exploration.•The CR adsorption ability depends on several factors related to the properties and structure.