Recent advances in organic room temperature phosphorescent gels

• The design and synthetic strategies, luminescence properties of organic RTP gels were comprehensively summarize. • The emerging applications in areas such as anti-counterfeiting and information encryption, 3D printing, process monitoring, bioimaging and ion detection are highlighted. • The current challenges and future perspectives for organic RTP gels are discussed. Organic room-temperature phosphorescent (RTP) gels have garnered considerable interest as a versatile class of soft materials, integrating the stimuli-responsive and dynamic nature of gels with long-lived phosphorescent emission. Their unique hierarchical and three-dimensional architectures provide tunable mechanical properties, reversible phase transitions, and excellent processability, rendering them highly suitable for both fundamental studies and practical implementations. Despite substantial progress in this field, a comprehensive review consolidating recent breakthroughs remains scarce. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advances in metal-free RTP gel materials. We elaborate on their sophisticated design strategies, luminescence properties and underlying mechanisms, as well as their potential applications in anti-counterfeiting and information encryption, 3D printing, process monitoring, bioimaging and ion detection. Furthermore, we offer perspectives highlighting current challenges and future opportunities for metal-free RTP gels across various disciplines. It is anticipated that this review will provide insightful guidelines and inspire further innovative research on organic RTP gel systems, thereby advancing the development of intelligent luminescent materials and their multifunctional applications.