As the continuous development of aero – engine towards high fuel efficiency and high thrust weight ratio, the service conditions of thermal barrier coating on the surface of engine hot-section components are becoming more and more stringent. As a new type of thermal barrier coating material, the development and application of rare earth zirconate have attracted more and more attention from scholars at home and abroad. In a series of rare earth zirconates, Sm₂Zr₂O₇ has the advantages of stable pyrochlore structure, low thermal conductivity and high coefficient of thermal expansion. In order to meet the higher service requirements of thermal barrier coatings, the doping modification and performance evaluation of Sm₂Zr₂O₇ have increasingly become an important research hotspot. Firstly, this paper briefly summarizes the thermal barrier coating materials, and then Sm₂Zr₂O₇ based ceramic materials and its corresponding coatings are investigated from the views of crystal structure, thermophysical properties, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance in detail. And the results could provide a reference for the research and application of Sm₂Zr₂O₇ in the field of advanced thermal barrier coatings.