This paper is the result of mineral exploration engineering.

Objective Zirconium and titanium resources in China are scarce and the market demand is large, heavily dependent on import. Sorting out the distribution of zirconium and titanium resources, metallogenic types and supply and demand status is of great significance for further zirconium and titanium exploration and development.

Methods This paper systematically collected and sorted out the endowment, deposit types, supply and demand conditions and resource potentials of zirconium and titanium resources in the world.

Results Zirconium resources in the world are mainly placer-type, titanium resources consist mainly of ilmenite and rutile, and high-quality titanium resources are also dominated by sedimentary placers. Zirconium and titanium resources in the world have the characteristics of concentrated distribution and separation between supply and demand, shown mainly as follows: Zirconium resources are mainly concentrated in Australia (71.43%), South Africa (8.43%) and Mozambique (2.57%) (accounting for more than 80%). China is the world's largest importer of zirconium resources, mainly from Australia and South Africa; Ilmenite resources are mainly distributed in China (32.86%), Australia (22.86%), India (12.14%) and other countries, while rutile resources are mainly distributed in Australia (62.31%), India (14.87%), South Africa (13.07%) and other countries. Although China's titanium resources account for a high proportion of reserves, its resource endowment is poor (high-grade titanium depends on imports), and it is the world's largest net importer of titanium resources, Mozambique and Vietnam are currently the largest overseas sources of titanium resources.

Conclusions Zirconium and titanium resources are still in short supply in China in the future. We should further increase investment in exploration and development, expand overseas sources, improve the level of industrial chain development, and establish a sustainable development and security system for zirconium and titanium resources as soon as possible.