Abstract: The adaptability of biological organisms to the environment is reflected in many aspects, especially in their camouflage of appearance. Inspired by biological camouflage strategies, a number of adaptive camouflage materials and devices have been developed to protect soldiers, vehicles, or equipment in the military. Today, the need for adaptive camouflage extends into people’s lives, whose privacy and information security need to be protected in the era of big data. Herein, a review is provided on the recent advancements of adaptive camouflage from the perspective of biological organisms and bio-inspired materials. Firstly, according to different biological mechanisms, we review the typical organisms that use pigmentary color, structural color, and morphological variation for adaptive camouflage, as well as those combine these strategies. Then, we provide an up-to-date review on recent developments in bio-inspired adaptive camouflage materials and devices with an emphasis on visible, infrared, and multispectral camouflage. At last, this review concludes the challenges and prospects for the future development of adaptive camouflage materials. It is noteworthy that there is never the best camouflage. To counter advanced detection techniques, it is necessary to unremittingly develop new materials and technologies to meet the increasing need for adaptive camouflage.

Key words: Bio-inspired material, Adaptive camouflage, Infrared camouflage, Multispectral adaptability, Structural color