Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a multifunctional material with a wide range of applications in electronics, computing, energy harvesting, sensing, optoelectronics, and biomedicine. Its direct and wide bandgap, high exciton binding energy, nontoxicity, abundance, and biocompatibility make it a promising material for various advanced applications. However, the growth and characterization of high-quality ZnO have been challenging. This paper reviews recent advancements in ZnO growth techniques, doping methods, and emerging applications. **Growth Techniques:** ZnO can be grown as thin films, nanostructures, or bulk materials using various techniques such as metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), atomic layer deposition (ALD), pulsed laser deposition (PLD), hydrothermal method, sol-gel technique, and magnetron sputtering. MOCVD is widely used due to its ability to control growth conditions and achieve uniform and high-quality ZnO films. Other techniques like MBE, PLD, and magnetron sputtering also have their advantages and limitations. **Native Defects:** Native defects in ZnO, such as oxygen vacancies (V_o) and zinc interstitials (Zn_i), are common and can affect the electrical properties. These defects can act as compensation points for free carriers, influencing mobility and resistivity. Understanding and minimizing these defects is crucial for improving ZnO's performance. **p-Type Doping:** P-type doping of ZnO is challenging due to its inherent n-type nature. Group-V, Group-I, and Group-IB elements have been used to achieve p-type behavior, but the process is complex and often results in low stability or conductivity. Codoping, where multiple elements are incorporated, can enhance p-type conductivity and structural stability. **ZnO as a Substrate:** ZnO can serve as a substrate for materials with a lattice match, such as GaN and InGaN, making it useful in compound semiconductor devices. **Bandgap Engineering:** Bandgap engineering in ZnO is achieved through alloying with materials like MgO or CdO, and doping with transition-metal elements. These methods can tune the bandgap to meet specific device requirements, such as in solar cells, transistors, and optoelectronic devices. **Devices and Applications:** ZnO has potential applications in spintronics, neuromorphic computing, neutron detection, photovoltaics, and more. Spintronics applications leverage ZnO's magnetic properties, while neuromorphic computing benefits from its single-photon emission and synaptic plasticity. Neutron detection advantages include high sensitivity and discrimination between neutron and gamma-ray interactions. Photovoltaic applications include use as a transparent conductive oxide layer and in heterojunction solar cells. This paper provides a comprehensive review of recent advancements in ZnOZinc oxide (ZnO) is a multifunctional material with a wide range of applications in electronics, computing, energy harvesting, sensing, optoelectronics, and biomedicine. Its direct and wide bandgap, high exciton binding energy, nontoxicity, abundance, and biocompatibility make it a promising material for various advanced applications. However, the growth and characterization of high-quality ZnO have been challenging. This paper reviews recent advancements in ZnO growth techniques, doping methods, and emerging applications. **Growth Techniques:** ZnO can be grown as thin films, nanostructures, or bulk materials using various techniques such as metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), atomic layer deposition (ALD), pulsed laser deposition (PLD), hydrothermal method, sol-gel technique, and magnetron sputtering. MOCVD is widely used due to its ability to control growth conditions and achieve uniform and high-quality ZnO films. Other techniques like MBE, PLD, and magnetron sputtering also have their advantages and limitations. **Native Defects:** Native defects in ZnO, such as oxygen vacancies (V_o) and zinc interstitials (Zn_i), are common and can affect the electrical properties. These defects can act as compensation points for free carriers, influencing mobility and resistivity. Understanding and minimizing these defects is crucial for improving ZnO's performance. **p-Type Doping:** P-type doping of ZnO is challenging due to its inherent n-type nature. Group-V, Group-I, and Group-IB elements have been used to achieve p-type behavior, but the process is complex and often results in low stability or conductivity. Codoping, where multiple elements are incorporated, can enhance p-type conductivity and structural stability. **ZnO as a Substrate:** ZnO can serve as a substrate for materials with a lattice match, such as GaN and InGaN, making it useful in compound semiconductor devices. **Bandgap Engineering:** Bandgap engineering in ZnO is achieved through alloying with materials like MgO or CdO, and doping with transition-metal elements. These methods can tune the bandgap to meet specific device requirements, such as in solar cells, transistors, and optoelectronic devices. **Devices and Applications:** ZnO has potential applications in spintronics, neuromorphic computing, neutron detection, photovoltaics, and more. Spintronics applications leverage ZnO's magnetic properties, while neuromorphic computing benefits from its single-photon emission and synaptic plasticity. Neutron detection advantages include high sensitivity and discrimination between neutron and gamma-ray interactions. Photovoltaic applications include use as a transparent conductive oxide layer and in heterojunction solar cells. This paper provides a comprehensive review of recent advancements in ZnO