Heat storage technology is critical for solar thermal utilization and waste heat utilization. Phase change heat storage has gotten a lot of attention in recent years due to its high energy storage density. Nevertheless, phase change materials (PCMs) also have problems such as leakage, corrosion, and volume change during the phase change process. Ceramic-based materials with excellent corrosion resistance, good wettability to PCMs, and high thermal conductivity can efficiently compensate for the above drawbacks. Most importantly, ceramic-based composite phase change materials (CPCMs) can simultaneously utilize the latent heat of phase change materials and the sensible heat of ceramic-based materials to achieve high heat storage density. This paper systematically summarizes the preparation, characterization, and application of ceramic-based CPCMs. Firstly, the types, properties, advantages, and disadvantages of ceramic heat storage materials and PCMs are introduced, respectively. Then, the necessity of the composite of ceramic materials and PCMs is proposed. After that, the preparation methods and properties of ceramic-based molten salt, organic, and metal CPCMs are analyzed. Moreover, their applications in waste heat recovery, thermal management for buildings, solar thermal energy storage, and electronic heat dissipation are introduced. Finally, the existing problem and optimization direction of ceramic-based CPCMs are further discussed.