<p>Emerging anthropogenic micropollutants (EAMs) pose a significant threat to humans and the environment due to their persistence and resistance to the conventional wastewater treatment process. EAMs primarily originate from municipal, industrial, agricultural, and pharmaceutical sources and are increasingly detected in water resources worldwide. Advanced wastewater treatment technologies (AWTTs) offer a potential solution for effective removal of EAMs. This review overviews the recent advancements in AWTTs, highlighting innovative treatment approaches and materials like bioaugmentation, membrane bioreactor (MBR), adsorption and advanced oxidation processes (AOP). MBRs and adsorption achieve high removal efficiencies (90–99%) for microplastics and pharmaceuticals with moderate energy consumption (0.5-2kWh/m³). While AOP effectively degrade recalcitrant contaminants such as dyes and Pre and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), achieving removal upto 90% and producing toxic intermediates. A hybrid system such as MBR-AOP offers a balanced approach by enhancing treatment efficiency and sustainability, although further optimisation is required for large-scale application. Biobased materials such as biochar and chitosan provide a cost-effective solution in terms of contaminant removal and reusability. They have shown better scalability compared to the engineered nanomaterials. Conventional treatments are ineffective for PFAS, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), often achieving less than 50% removal, highlighting the importance of AWTT despite challenges related to secondary byproducts and sludge generation. This review serves as a valuable resource for guiding sustainable and cost-effective wastewater treatment strategies to mitigate the escalating risks posed by anthropogenic micropollutants.</p>