Latest Advancements and Mechanistic Insights into High-Entropy Alloys: Design, Properties and Applications

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are a class of multi-principal element materials composed of five or more elements in near-equimolar ratios. This unique compositional design generates high configurational entropy, which stabilizes simple solid solution phases and reduces the tendency for intermetallic compound formation. Unlike conventional alloys, HEAs exhibit a combination of properties that are often mutually exclusive, such as high strength and ductility, excellent thermal stability, superior corrosion and oxidation resistance. The exceptional mechanical performance of HEAs is attributed to mechanisms including lattice distortion strengthening, sluggish diffusion, and multiple active deformation pathways such as dislocation slip, twinning, and phase transformation. Advanced characterization techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atom probe tomography (APT), and in-situ mechanical testing have revealed the complex interplay between microstructure and properties. Computational approaches, including CALPHAD modeling, density functional theory (DFT), and machine learning, have significantly accelerated HEA design, allowing prediction of phase stability, mechanical behavior, and environmental resistance. Representative examples include the FCC-structured CoCrFeMnNi alloy, known for its exceptional cryogenic toughness, Al-containing dual-phase HEAs, such as AlCoCrFeNi, which exhibit high hardness and moderate ductility and refractory HEAs, such as NbMoTaW, which maintain ultra-high strength at temperatures above 1200°C. Despite these advances, challenges remain in controlling microstructural homogeneity, understanding long-term environmental stability, and developing cost-effective manufacturing routes. This review provides a comprehensive and analytical study of recent progress in HEA research (focusing on literature from 2022–2025), covering thermodynamic fundamentals, design strategies, processing techniques, mechanical and chemical properties, and emerging applications, through highlighting opportunities and directions for future research. In summary, the review’s unique contribution lies in offering an up-to-date, mechanistically grounded, and computationally informed study on the HEAs research-linking composition, processing, structure, and properties to guide the next phase of alloy design and application.