Abstract: A review of the current status and trend of advanced functional composites for aerospace applications is presented in this paper. It covers an overview of the various types of functional composites in different application areas. Special emphasis is put on thermal protection functional composites in aerospace applications, including the thermal protection system and materials, the thermal ablative composites, the gradient composites and their compositions, functional mechanism and applications. Finally, the development trends are discussed. In general, the functional composites are developed in the direction of high performance, multiple functions and low-cost.