Polyphenol is a promising bio-inspired material vital for the creation of various functional systems. The increasing trend in developement and application of polyphenol-coated textiles not only showcases its global relevance but also indicates the extensive scientific research interest in this field. Polyphenol's numerous functional groups play a pivotal role as structural units for covalent and/or non-covalent interactions with polymers, as well as for anchoring transition metal ions crucial for the formation of multi-functional textiles. Consequently, polyphenol enhances textiles with diverse capabilities, such as hydrophobicity, flame retardance, photothermal conversion, and antibacterial properties. This emergent material has rapidly found its way into an array of applications, including solar evaporators, water purification, wound dressings, and thermal management. This review aims to offer an encompassing summary of the recent advances in the field of bio-inspired and multifunctional polyphenol-coated textiles. Polyphenols were introduced as the building blocks of textiles and exhaustively discussed their design and functionality within the textile framework. Moreover, these functions spurred myriad intriguing applications for textiles. Some of the key challenges were also explored in this emerging field, which were bound to stimulate thinking processes in multi-functional textile design. Overview of bio-inspired polyphenol-coated textiles