<p>The governance of oil pollution is a key challenge in addressing the global water crisis. Traditional oil–water separation technologies (such as adsorption, flotation, and membrane separation) have problems such as low efficiency, high energy consumption, and easy secondary pollution. Developing new materials with high selectivity, efficient separation, low-energy consumption and self-cleaning characteristics is the current research focus. Special wettability smart materials, through bionic design and intelligent response mechanisms, provide innovative paths for oil–water separation. They are broadly classified into three types: bioinspired intelligent response, and composite functional, each with its own unique characteristics and application fields. This article focuses on three types of special wettability materials: bioinspired materials imitate the micro-nano structure and chemical properties of natural prototypes (such as lotus leaves, etc.), obtaining properties such as superhydrophobicity/superlipophilicity; stimuli-responsive materials are engineered based on environmental signals (such as pH, light, etc.) to form single/multi-stimulus-responsive materials and are suitable for complex oil–water systems. Composite functional materials integrate multiple functions to enhance comprehensive performance. Finally, in terms of evaluation and outlook, there have been breakthroughs in separation and regulation in this field, but it still faces challenges such as poor long-term stability, high costs, and the need for optimization of large-scale processes.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>