Bio-fouling adhering to coatings and filtering membranes has caused inconvenience in such industry as ocean navigation and aquaculture. It is in urgent need to develop membranes with excellent anti-bacterial and anti-fouling properties. Silver nano-particles, which feature in large specific surface area, high surface reactivity, many surface active centers, catalytic efficiency and strong adsorption capacity, are widely used in the fields of medicine, catalysis and sensing. Adding silver nano-particles into coatings and filtering membranes can significantly enhance anti-fouling property, reduce the adhesion of bio-fouling, improve working environment of materials and prolong their service life. Preparation methods of silver nano-particles were introduced in detail in the aspects of in-situ growth and non-in-situ addition. Effects of such factors as content, shape, valence state, size of silver nano-particles on anti-fouling properties of silver-containing composite membrane were discussed. Moreover, anti-fouling mechanisms of the silver-containing composite membrane were systematically concluded from the points of silver nano-particles, silver ions and reactive oxygen species. Finally, problems existing in application of silver-containing composites were pointed out. Future development trend of the composites was suggested. Nowadays, though silver-containing composites have some deficiencies, application prospect of silver-containing composites is promising in the future with the continuous optimization of technology.