Abstract: Aluminum nitride has been widely applied for the high thermal conductivity and insulating properties. Nowadays, the global aluminum nitride application market is in the high growth stage as well as the demand for aluminum nitride is growing continuously. Aluminum nitride powders are the critical raw materials for the synthesis of aluminum nitride ceramics, and the properties of the aluminum nitride powders dominate the properties of the aluminum nitride ceramics. In the paper, the preparation methods of micrometer- and nanometer-sized aluminum nitride powders have been compared. Moreover, the future research directions and development trend of preparing aluminum nitride powders have been pointed out.