Coal provides the primary source of energy for many countries including Asia, South America, North America and Europe, and large quantities of waste products are produced during the combustion of coal in coal-fired power stations. This review paper gives an overview of the various types of coal combustion products (CCPs) and their utilization in various sectors, with a particular emphasis on the role of CCPs in managing the bioavailability of nutrients and heavy metals in relation to enhancing soil chemical fertility and mitigating metal contaminated soils. Currently, CCPs are used extensively in agricultural and construction industries. In agricultural industries, they are used primarily as an amendment to improve the physical and chemical properties of soil, as a source of liming material to ameliorate soil acidity and as a nutrient source to supply calcium and sulphur. In the construction industry, they are used mainly as a source of concrete, roofing material and road surface sealing. Increasingly, CCPs are used in the remediation of contaminated environments including control of acid mine drainage, mitigating phosphorus leaching in farm lands and immobilization of toxic metals in mine sites and agricultural soils.