The process of burn wounds healing includes the removal of necrotic tissue, the hyperplasia of granulation tissue and epithelialization. The removal of necrotic tissue is the first step in dealing with burn wounds. Although there are a variety of adjuvant drugs for removing necrotic tissue, surgical debridement is still the main way of debridement of burn wounds. Surgical debridement of burn wounds includes escharectomy, tangential excision and dermabrasion. Escharectomy and tangential excision have been widely used in clinical practice, while dermabrasion has not been known to the majority of burns colleagues. This article summarizes the clinical application and progress of dermabrasion in burn wounds.