<p>Human civilization cannot exist without water, and as the population increases, water consumption has also increased. However, the water has been contaminated in various anthropogenic causes’ like discharge of agriculture run-off, household waste, textile effluents, nuclear waste etc. into water-bodies resulting in global environmental issues. It is evident that biomolecules, fluoride, heavy metals, organic dyes, and other substances are the main contaminants in the water system. Certainly, the presence of heavy metals viz. Ag⁺, Cd²⁺, Cr^3+/6+, Co²⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe²⁺, Hg²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺, Pd²⁺, and Zn²⁺ in the water bodies leads to their accumulation in the food chain, posing a threat to human health. Notably, many of such contaminants persist in the environment and bio-accumulate within the food chain, thereby causing potential risks to both ecological systems and human health over the long term. The lack of thorough toxicological data has left many contaminants and their health impacts raising concerns about public safety. Because of their environmental endurance and tendency to bio-accumulate in the food chain, the prolonged exposure may have a negative impact on human health. Therefore, treating these polluted water bodies is essential to save the environment and life. In this regard, advanced wastewater treatment technologies, and the generation of regulatory frameworks to control the release of contaminants should be addressed to diminish such issues. Hence, this review focuses on certain currently available wastewater contaminants removal methods mainly via Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP), bioremediation, chemical precipitation and coagulation, membrane filtration technologies, physical adsorption-based technique and phytoremediation.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>