Driven by the robust concept of green environmental protection, zirconate pretreatment technology has gradually replaced traditional phosphate treatment in the automotive manufacturing industry after more than a decade of development. Currently, zirconation technology has advanced to its third generation, which further enhances the corrosion resistance of zirconate films through the introduction of water-based resins. Based on this backdrop, existing review articles primarily focus on summarizing the optimization of zirconation process factors for specific metal substrates and their impacts on zirconate film properties, lacking a comprehensive analysis of the common deposition mechanisms involved across different substrates. This paper embarks on exploring the three fundamental processes of zirconate film formation: surface activation, electrochemical driving, and sol-gel chemical film formation. It summarizes the common characteristics and differences in the film-forming processes for various substrate types, along with the underlying mechanisms involved, particularly the interplay between electrochemical deposition mechanisms and sol-gel chemical film formation. Furthermore, it delves into the interaction between substrates and conversion films, and provides an outlook on the future development directions of zirconate films.