The increasingly serious electromagnetic radiation environment poses a threat to human health, interferes with the normal operation of precision instruments, and threatens national defense and information security. Lightweight, corrosion-resistant, easy to process, and low-cost carbon-based electromagnetic shielding composites restrict electromagnetic waves through the shielding body. The electromagnetic shielding performance of carbon-based composites is closely related to the design of three-dimensional conductive structures. Carbon-based composites can be designed as homogeneous structures, network structures, oriented structures, and multilayer structures. Based on the microstructure of carbon based electromagnetic shielding composites, the specific shielding mechanism of carbon-based composites was analyzed, and the control of carbon's conductive structure and specific application forms were summarized. The research direction and development trend of carbon based electromagnetic shielding composites in the future were also discussed.