AbstractThe application of (bio)wastes as alternatives to expensive existing catalysts is an approach that can be used to reduce environmental pollution problems. Animal bone wastes have attracted much attention as environmentally friendly heterogeneous catalysts for chemical transformations such as transesterification, oxidation, and biofuel production, owing to the substantial availability of valuable hydroxyapatite (HAp) in their structure. Most catalysts based on bone can be prepared easily by calcination. High‐temperature calcination yields highly active catalysts. Heterogeneous catalysts prepared from these renewable sources could also simply be reused and recovered without any important loss of catalytic performance. This paper reviews past efforts and recent progress on the development of different eco‐friendly catalysts derived from bone waste and some of their catalyzed chemical transformations. However, future challenges focus on crediting the conversion of unusable wastes to valuable sources to meet global requirements © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.