<p>Polyhalogenated carbazoles (PHCZs) represent a group of emerging organic contaminants that have attracted considerable attention in recent years due to their toxicity. PHCZs are widely found in environmental media, including soil, sediment, water and atmosphere. PHCZs exhibit high persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity, posing a significant risk to the environment and human health. However, a detailed overview, especially on the recent progress of PHCZs research, is still lacking. Therefore, the objective of this review is to provide an overview of the global occurrence and distribution of PHCZs in various environmental samples, and their fate in terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric systems. Meanwhile, the current pretreatment and detection methods, as well as the degradation and remediation techniques for PHCZs, were also discussed. Additionally, theoretical calculations such as density functional theory (DFT) have been used to predict the properties and environmental behavior of PHCZs. Overall, the present review aims to provide better understanding of PHCZs as an emerging contaminant, thereby attracting more attention and future research on their evaluation and remediation.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>