Sugar ester is a type of nonionic biologic surfactants, with many excellent properties, such as foaming and emulsification properties and is widely used in many fields. However, some poisonous organic solvents are usually used in the traditional synthesis of sugar esters, which makes it problematic for these esters to be applied in the food industry and other related fields. Ionic liquids, which can be used to solve the problem, are not only a kind of novel, environmental friendly and innoxious solvents, but also an interesting class of tunable and designed solvents. They have been used extensively in a wide range of applications. This paper summarizes the characteristics and the types of ionic liquids, and reviews the latest research progress of ionic liquids taking the place of solvents in the emulsification method and the enzyme catalyst method. Advantages and disadvantages are discussed. Some suggestions for the development of sugar ester are made and the prospects in the future are also commented.