<p>Supercapacitors (SCs) are emerging as promising energy storage devices capable of meeting future energy demands, which motivates the researchers to develop novel electrode material. This review presents the recent advancements in graphene synthesis, its functionalization, and structural design of graphene-based composite electrodes for high-performance SC applications. Owing to graphene’s exceptional properties such as high specific surface area of (2630&#xa0;m²&#xa0;g⁻¹), a superior thermal conductivity (2000 to 5000 W/mK), high charge mobility (2 × 10⁵&#xa0;cm²&#xa0;V⁻¹&#xa0;s⁻¹), and excellent mechanical strength, make it highly attractive material for next-generation energy storage device technology. This study systematically discusses the graphene-based composite incorporating with heteroatoms, MOFs (Metal–organic framework), metal compounds (metal oxides/sulfides/phosphides/selenides), conducting polymers and sodium/lithium-ion capacitors are discussed in terms of specific capacitance, energy/power density, capacitance retention and cyclic stability. Finally, the challenges and future research direction for optimizing the electrochemical performance of graphene-based electrodes are outlined, providing insights into development of efficient SC for practical applications.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>