The invention discloses an adsorption and ceramic membrane coupling process for removing sulfate ions from saline water. The process comprises the following steps of: establishing an absorption solid-liquid separation system and a desorption solid-liquid separation system which take ceramic membranes as cores, concentrating zirconium hydroxide slurry which has low solid content and absorbs sulfate ions with a ceramic membrane in the absorption solid-liquid separation system, filtering and separating concentrated solution into solid and liquid by using a vacuum drum, introducing the solid into a desorption procedure, returning the liquid into the ceramic membrane in the absorption system for fine filtering, recycling zirconium hydroxide particles in saline water slurry, and neutralizing clear liquid filtered by the ceramic membrane for dissolving into salt; and adding alkali liquor into zirconium hydroxide solid which absorbs sulfate ions in the desorption solid-liquid separation system, performing a desorption reaction to obtain zirconium hydroxide slurry, introducing desorbed zirconium hydroxide slurry into the ceramic membrane for washing and concentrating, filtering and separating concentrated solution into zirconium hydroxide solid and zirconium hydroxide liquid by using the vacuum drum, and introducing the zirconium hydroxide solid into an adsorption reaction for recycling.