Compared with traditional silicon materials, wide-band gap semiconductors are more suitable for making high voltage, high-frequency and high-power semiconductor devices, and are considered to be the key role of material innovation in the post-Moore era. Single-crystal diamond (SCD) has superiorities of wide-band gap, extremely high thermal conductivity and high mobility, and is expected to develop high-power, high-frequency electronic devices. However, the limitation of SCD wafer size and ultra-expensive price obstructed its promotion. After a long-time exploration, heteroepitaxy technology is recognized as an effective approach to obtain high-quality and large-size SCD wafer. This review introduces the development of heteroepitaxial SCD in detail, in aspects of substrate selection, growth mechanism and quality improvement. Furthermore, the investigations of field-effect transistors and diodes based on heteroepitaxial SCD are summarized, indicating the great potential of heteroepitaxial SCD in electronic device field. Finally, the challenges of heteroepitaxial technology are pointed out, and the potential applications are anticipated.