This review article focuses on the recent advancements in non-noble-metal bifunctional electrocatalysts for zinc-air batteries (ZABs). It highlights the design principles and working mechanisms of these catalysts, providing a comprehensive understanding of their structure-performance relationships and reaction pathways. The article discusses the challenges and prospects in designing advanced non-noble-metal bifunctional electrocatalysts for high-performance ZABs. Key topics include morphology design, crystal structure tuning, interface strategy, and atomic engineering. The review also covers the historical development of ZABs, the working principles of ZABs, and the performance evaluation methods. The article emphasizes the importance of efficient and cheap bifunctional electrocatalysts to promote the commercialization of ZABs, addressing issues such as dendrite formation, shape change, passivation, corrosion, and side reactions with electrolytes. The review concludes by discussing the current state of research and future directions in the field.This review article focuses on the recent advancements in non-noble-metal bifunctional electrocatalysts for zinc-air batteries (ZABs). It highlights the design principles and working mechanisms of these catalysts, providing a comprehensive understanding of their structure-performance relationships and reaction pathways. The article discusses the challenges and prospects in designing advanced non-noble-metal bifunctional electrocatalysts for high-performance ZABs. Key topics include morphology design, crystal structure tuning, interface strategy, and atomic engineering. The review also covers the historical development of ZABs, the working principles of ZABs, and the performance evaluation methods. The article emphasizes the importance of efficient and cheap bifunctional electrocatalysts to promote the commercialization of ZABs, addressing issues such as dendrite formation, shape change, passivation, corrosion, and side reactions with electrolytes. The review concludes by discussing the current state of research and future directions in the field.