Developing appropriate geo-environmental technologies to remove undesirable contaminants from wastewater is vital. Constructed wetlands (CWs) are an economical, high-performance, environmentally friendly approach for efficiently eliminating contaminants from wastewater. To minimize the effects of industrial hazardous wastes of antibiotics, heavy metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and pesticides from wastewater, numerous studies sought to investigate the potentiality of sustainable, cost-effective naturally occurring materials such as soils, along with artificially manufactured Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA) and activated carbon as adsorbents in numerous lab-scale studies. The substrate choice in CWs is fundamentally connected with other essential components such as vegetation, which are important in determining the efficiency and sustainability of CWs. This report provides an extensive review of the status of previous research on the function of constructed wetlands in removing various contaminants from wastewater. Different materials have been utilized as substrates in Constructed wetlands (CWs), and their unique characteristics and benefits in application have been the subject of extensive research in recent years. Past studies have reported significant removal of approximately 90–99% of contaminants using constructed wetlands with the aid of wetland plants and sorption techniques. These results were validated analytically and numerically using software modeling. Further research assessing the effects of critical combinations of contaminants, adsorbent material and different wetland plants for improving the efficacy of waste removal can be performed. This study is expected to illuminate potential solutions to similar practical issues.