For the traditional alloys, most of which were based on a single principal element. They improved the comprehensive properties of the mate-rials always by adding a small or tiny number of specific elements. However, it limited the development of their components and novel pro-perties to a large extent. Therefore, it is high time to develop unconventional alloys to meet the increasing demands. High-entropy alloys (HEAs), a new type of multi-element metals found in recent years, have been gaining increasing popularity among lots of researchers within just these few years because of its unique design concept, organizational structure and excellent properties. Compared with the traditional ones which focused on the boundary (vertex, edge) region of the phase diagram, HEAs attach more importance to the region near the center of the multi-component phase diagram, which is why HEAs have a wider space for the development of composition design. Besides, high-entropy alloys exhibit excellent mechanical properties and good functional properties. Currently, most researches on HEAs focus on the microstructure and mechanical properties of structural materials. According to the composition design and deformation mechanism of HEAs have made great progress. However, the theoretical researches on the functional properties of high-entropy alloys are still very limited. Therefore, this study not only briefly introduces the development of HEAs and systematically summarizes the preparation methods of HEAs, but also discusses the research status of corrosion resis-tance and wear resistance in detail and then summarizes the main factors affecting these properties. In addition, attention has also been paid to the current research status of HEAs as soft magnetic, anti-radiative, catalytic, biomedical materials. Finally, the critical issues of the present research and future development of high-entropy alloys are prospected. The current review would provide the useful reference for scientists who conduct researches on the functional HEAs. © 2021, Materials Review Magazine. All right reserved.
