Lignin valorization is considered as an important part of the modern biorefinery scheme. The unique structure and composition of lignin may offer many effective routes to produce several bulk chemicals and functional materials. Thermochemical conversion of the lignin to synthesize the value-added functional materials has recently attracted lots of attention. In this review, we have presented currently available approaches and strategies for the thermochemical conversion of the lignin to functional carbon materials. The transformation behavior and mechanism of lignin during the thermochemical process (e.g., pyrolysis and hydrothermal carbonization) are illuminated. The characteristics (structure and surface chemistry) of the lignin-based functional carbon materials are summarized systematically. The advances on the functionalization of lignin-based carbon materials (surface functionality tuning and porosity tailoring) and applications of the lignin-based functional carbon materials in the fields of catalysis, energy storage, and pollutant removal are reviewed. Perspectives on how lignin-based functional materials would develop and especially in which fields the use of these functionalized materials could be expanded are discussed. This review clearly shows that rational designing of the functionalized lignin-based materials will lead to a rich family of hybrid functional carbon materials with various applications toward a green and sustainable future. many persistent organic pollutants (e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), oxygenated PAHs (OPAHs), and dioxins) [24][25][26] and particulate matters (e.g., PM 2.5 and PM 10) 27, 28 may form if