Our world is facing continued challenges of environmental and ecological pollutions due to human and industrial activities. One of the major threats is oily wastewater mainly discharged from oil fields, refineries, automobile, palm oil industries, and many others. Membrane-based technology offers an almost complete separation of oil from water. However, the technology is facing the challenge of maintaining performance over long periods of operation caused by membrane fouling as a result of interaction between oil droplets and the membrane surface. This attracts research interest mainly on developing customized polymeric, ceramic well as a metallic-based membrane material for improved performance. This paper reviews the recent advances of membrane material developments with the focus on methods of improving the surface chemistry, structure, and hydrodynamics and their implication on the filtration performances. © 2020 THE AUTHORS