BACKGROUND:In the treatment strategy of chronic osteomyelitis,the local antibiotic slow-release system has attracted much attention in the clinic due to the long-term release of effective concentrations of antibiotics to control the infection,and at the same time,the ability to repair bone defects caused by debridement. OBJECTIVE:To summarize the research status of antibiotic sustained-release carriers prepared from biodegradable polymer-based materials for the treatment of osteomyelitis,and analyze the limitations and challenges. METHODS:Chinese and English key words were"polymer,composite material,osteomyelitis,infectious bone defect,drug delivery systems,antibiotic sustained-release system,3D printing".Relevant articles were searched in PubMed,Web of Science,CNKI,and WanFang databases from January 2015 to August 2023.4 351 articles were obtained in the initial examination,and 87 articles were analyzed after screening. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Polymer-based materials have been widely studied in the preparation of antibiotic sustained-release carriers due to their good biocompatibility,biodegradability,thermal stability,and easy processing.However,the antibiotic slow-release carrier composed of a single polymer material cannot meet the standard of infectious bone defect repair materials due to the lack of biomechanical properties.The organic-inorganic composite material carrier,which simulates the formation of natural bone tissue structure,is expected to meet this standard.3D printing technology can precisely control the size,geometry,and spatial distribution of the interconnecting pores of the carrier,and can load the effective concentration of antibiotics to achieve controlled release.The polymer material is the most suitable for 3D printing because of its good thermal stability and plasticity.Therefore,the author believes that on the basis of new biodegradable organic-inorganic composite materials and combined with 3D printing technology,the material-structure-function integrated composite antibiotic slow-release carrier to simulate the extracellular matrix microenvironment is expected to become a novel research direction in the treatment of chronic osteomyelitis.