The chemical symbol for Rhenium is “Re” ,the atomic coefficient of Rhenium is 75 and the atomic weight is 186.207.Rhenium is in the periodic system Ⅶ B. Early in 1872,according to the Periodic law of elements, the Russian Scientist Dmitri Mendeleev predicted that there was a chemical element with an atomic weight 190 and similar to manganese yet to find , named Manganese-like. Until 1925, German chemist Walter Noddack found this element from the residue of platinum group metals and named it rhenium in honor of Rhine River.

Nordack later discovered that rhenium was mainly existed in molybdenite and extracted rhenium from it. The content of rhenium in ore is low, the price of it is expensive,there has been little research on it.After 1950, rhenium then was transformed from laboratory treasure into an important new metal material. It started to be applied in the modern technology and the the production of rhenium grew. China began to extract rhenium in 1959 and is now able to produce all kinds of rhenium products that the world needs.