Fluorescent carbon nano-materials with quantum confinement and edge effects have recently piqued attention in a variety of applications, including biological imaging, drug delivery, optoelectronics and sensing. These nano-materials can be synthesized from a variety of carbon-based precursors using both top-down and bottom-up methods. Coal and its derivatives typically include a vast crystalline network and condensed aromatic ring cluster, which can be easily exfoliated by chemical, electrochemical, or physical processes to produce nano-materials. As a result, they are regarded as a low-cost, abundant and efficient carbon source for the fabrication of high-yield nano-materials. Nano-materials synthesized from coal-based precursors have outstanding fluorescence, photostability, biocompatibility and low toxicity, among other properties. Their properties in optical sensors, LED devices, bio-imaging, and photo and electro-catalyst applications have already been investigated. In this review, we have highlighted current developments in the synthesis, structural properties and fluorescence properties of nano-materials synthesized from coal-based precursors.