Typically

ceramics are sintered at temperatures of above 1000 ℃ by traditional sintering route

resulting in long sintering time and high energy consumptions. The high sintering temperatures adversely affect the interface control

phase stability

and material co-sintering

and thus

it is challenging to co-sinter ceramics and polymers with polymers as the fillers. Cold sintering process

employing an intermediate liquid phase and dissolution–precipitation process

enables rapid densification of ceramics at temperatures ≤300 ℃

which effectively addresses the co-sintering issue of ceramics and polymers. This review introduces the development of cold sintering process

sintering parameters and cold sintering mechanisms. The application and current status of cold sintering process in ceramic–polymer composites

such as microwave dielectrics

ferroelectrics

lithium-ion batteries

varistors

semiconductors and thermoelectric materials

are discussed in detail. Finally

the challenges and future prospects of cold sintering process are analyzed.