Dynamic and adaptive self‐healing hydrogels: from network engineering to advanced functional systems

Self‐healing hydrogels have emerged as a pivotal class of soft materials capable of autonomously restoring structural integrity after mechanical damage, thereby addressing long‐standing durability limitations in conventional hydrogel systems. Driven by the increasing demand for resilient, adaptive and long‐lasting materials, extensive research efforts have focused on engineering hydrogels with intrinsic healing capabilities while maintaining desirable mechanical, physicochemical and functional properties. This review provides a comprehensive and critical overview of recent advances in self‐healing hydrogels, spanning fundamental synthesis strategies to a broad spectrum of emerging applications. The underlying self‐healing mechanisms are systematically categorized, including physical interactions, dynamic covalent bonding and hybrid approaches that integrate multiple healing pathways to achieve enhanced performance. Key design principles governing network architecture, healing efficiency, mechanical robustness and environmental responsiveness are discussed in detail. Beyond material design, the review highlights the expanding application landscape of self‐healing hydrogels in biomedical engineering, soft electronics, energy devices, environmental remediation and smart systems, emphasizing structure–property–function relationships. Current challenges related to scalability, long‐term stability, healing under complex service conditions and integration into practical devices are critically assessed. Finally, future research directions are outlined, focusing on multifunctional integration, sustainable material platforms and data‐driven design strategies. This review aims to serve as a unified framework for guiding the rational development of next‐generation self‐healing hydrogels with improved reliability and multifunctionality across diverse technological domains.