Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are promising technologies for future eco-smart cities, offering self-powered, affordable, and customizable solutions for renewable energy and sensing applications. This review highlights the latest advancements in TENGs for eco-smart cities, covering renewable energy supply, human-machine interaction, intelligent healthcare, transportation, agriculture, industry, and environmental protection. TENGs can harvest energy from various sources, including water, wind, solar, raindrop, and mechanical vibrations, and are used in smart homes, healthcare, and environmental monitoring. The review also discusses the working principles of TENGs, including the triboelectric effect and electrostatic induction, and their applications in different fields. TENGs are also used in human-machine interaction, such as facial, eye, breathing, speech, and gesture recognition. In healthcare, TENGs are used for health monitoring, rehabilitation, and nervous and bone repair. The review emphasizes the importance of TENGs in creating sustainable and intelligent urban environments, and their potential to address current energy and sensing challenges in eco-smart cities. The study also discusses the trends in publications related to eco-smart cities and TENGs, highlighting the growing interest in integrating TENGs into smart cities for sustainable development. The review concludes that TENGs have significant potential to contribute to the development of eco-smart cities by providing renewable energy, self-powered sensors, and intelligent systems for urban environments.Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are promising technologies for future eco-smart cities, offering self-powered, affordable, and customizable solutions for renewable energy and sensing applications. This review highlights the latest advancements in TENGs for eco-smart cities, covering renewable energy supply, human-machine interaction, intelligent healthcare, transportation, agriculture, industry, and environmental protection. TENGs can harvest energy from various sources, including water, wind, solar, raindrop, and mechanical vibrations, and are used in smart homes, healthcare, and environmental monitoring. The review also discusses the working principles of TENGs, including the triboelectric effect and electrostatic induction, and their applications in different fields. TENGs are also used in human-machine interaction, such as facial, eye, breathing, speech, and gesture recognition. In healthcare, TENGs are used for health monitoring, rehabilitation, and nervous and bone repair. The review emphasizes the importance of TENGs in creating sustainable and intelligent urban environments, and their potential to address current energy and sensing challenges in eco-smart cities. The study also discusses the trends in publications related to eco-smart cities and TENGs, highlighting the growing interest in integrating TENGs into smart cities for sustainable development. The review concludes that TENGs have significant potential to contribute to the development of eco-smart cities by providing renewable energy, self-powered sensors, and intelligent systems for urban environments.