• Carbon-based zinc-ion capacitors combine high power density of supercapacitors with high energy density of batteries, offering abundant resources, high safety, and environmental friendliness.
• Key challenges include insufficient specific capacitance, short cycling life, and narrow operating voltage and temperature ranges, hindering practical applications.
• Recent progress focuses on optimizing carbon cathode structure and surface chemistry, electrolyte composition, and zinc anode stability to enhance capacitive performance.
• The review provides theoretical guidance for advancing the development and practical use of carbon-based ZICs.