Abstract: In the traditional extractive distillation process, organic solvents are often used as entrainers. However, environmental influence and high energy-consumption are significant problems in industrial application. In this study, a systematic screening strategy and innovative energy-saving design for ionic liquid-based extractive distillation process was proposed. The innovative energy-saving design focused on the binary min. azeotrope mixtures isopropanol and water. Miscibility, environmental impact and phys. properties (e.g., m.p. and viscosity) of 30 ionic liquids were investigated. 1-Ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium dicyanamide and 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium dicyanamide were selected as candidate entrainers. Feasibility anal. of these two ionic liquids was further performed via residue curve maps, isovolatility line and temperature profiles. An innovative ionic liquid-based extractive distillation process combining distillation column and stripping column was designed and optimized with the objective function of minimizing the total annualized cost. The results demonstrate that the total annualized cost was reduced by 19.9% with 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium dicyanamide as the entrainer and by 24.3% with 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium dicyanamide, compared with that of di-Me sulfoxide. The method proposed in this study is conducive to the green and sustainable development of extractive distillation process. [graphic not available: see fulltext]