To increase the operation temperature and service life of superalloy, thermal barrier coatings are widely employed in the surface protective field of high- temperature components of aircraft engine. In this paper, the research progress on materials and preparation techniques of thermal barrier coatings is reviewed. The main issues are analyzed and the method of the functionally graded thermal barrier coatings by laserinduction hybrid cladding (LIHC) is put forward. Namely, the substrate is preheated meanwhile laser cladding is carried out to form LIHC heat source, which is combined with the design of functionally graded structure. As a result, the crack- free and high- property thermal barrier coatings can be obtained under the condition of high efficiency.