This review provides a comprehensive overview of the progress, strategies, and future perspectives in the development of hard carbon (HC) anode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). HC is considered the most promising anode material due to its abundant resources, low cost, and high reversible specific capacity. The review highlights the importance of designing and regulating the structure of HC to enhance its performance in SIBs. It systematically compares traditional fabrication methods with advanced strategies, including high-temperature carbonization, pre-treating, and post-treating methods, in terms of preparation efficiency, initial coulombic efficiency (ICE), specific capacity, and rate capability. Advanced strategies are categorized into two groups: those suitable for large-scale production and those that optimize the design of high-performance HC anodes. The review also discusses the challenges and future development prospects for achieving high-performance HC anodes, emphasizing the need for more researchers to explore new preparation strategies. By aggregating cutting-edge methods, the industry of SIBs can be advanced, and the industrialization of SIBs can be facilitated.This review provides a comprehensive overview of the progress, strategies, and future perspectives in the development of hard carbon (HC) anode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). HC is considered the most promising anode material due to its abundant resources, low cost, and high reversible specific capacity. The review highlights the importance of designing and regulating the structure of HC to enhance its performance in SIBs. It systematically compares traditional fabrication methods with advanced strategies, including high-temperature carbonization, pre-treating, and post-treating methods, in terms of preparation efficiency, initial coulombic efficiency (ICE), specific capacity, and rate capability. Advanced strategies are categorized into two groups: those suitable for large-scale production and those that optimize the design of high-performance HC anodes. The review also discusses the challenges and future development prospects for achieving high-performance HC anodes, emphasizing the need for more researchers to explore new preparation strategies. By aggregating cutting-edge methods, the industry of SIBs can be advanced, and the industrialization of SIBs can be facilitated.