•Biochar can absorb a large number of essential nutrients for plant growth.•Biochar is an ideal material for reclaiming degraded soils.•Application of biochar on agricultural field is safe.•Concerns should be given on some important areas related to biochar utilization. Excessive land use has a series consequences on the degradation of land function and exerts tremendous pressure on the ecological environment. Farming, mining, and heavy metal pollution have resulted in many negative effects on soils. Biochar has become a hot research topic in the fields of agriculture, environment, and energy as an environmentally friendly soil improver in recent years. The application of biochar for both agricultural and environmental benefits has been studied and reviewed extensively. However, there are limited reviews on the structures of biochar and other biochar applications. This paper provides an overview of recent advances in the effects of the various physicochemical properties of biochar and biochar utilizations including its use as catalyst, soil amendment, water retention, contaminant adsorbent, gas storage, ion exchange, and soil microbial activity. Discussions on biochar on the physical, chemical, biological properties after amendment to the soil and preparation condition. However, the negative effects of biochar in preparations and applications need to be recognized through scientific observation and research. It is anticipated that further research on biochar amendment will increase the understanding on the interactions of biochar with soils, review the negative effects of biochar and it should be alleviated as much as possible.