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The cement manufacturing industry, a resource- and energy-intensive sector, took up more than 15% of total greenhouse gas emissions in China, thus finding a clean technology option for sustainable development is essential. CO 2 curing has emerged as a promising novel method for large-scale carbon sequestration and mechanical properties improvement of cement-based composites. Currently, a body of related works is mainly investigated in the laboratory, and understandings of the behaviors of CO 2 -cured cement-based composites are still less than complete, including, 1) the CO 2 storage potential has plenty of room for improvement due to the influence mechanism of variables factors remains unclear; 2) previous evaluations were mostly based on the subsets of individual result rather than an integrated dataset; 3) whether CO 2 curing is suitable for the manufacturing process of reinforced concrete. Therefore, this paper presents a comprehensive overview covering a wide range of parameters as well as fabrication, mechanical (compressive strength), and environmental (CO 2 uptake value) performances on the basis of a correct understanding of the differences between active and passive carbonation reactions. Notably, the influences of critical factors, including those less understood, e.g., types of curing setup (flow-able, enclosed, and others), components of binder, and aggregate/binder ratio, are also analyzed and the corresponding mechanisms discussed to achieve satisfied curing efficiency. Besides, corrosion-related challenges are also be pointed out to convince the widespread acceptance of this technology. Finally, based on this paper, limitations of existing research are identified and future scope on CO 2 curing regime is proposed. • 170 studies related to CO 2 /carbonation-cured cement-based composites are analyzed. • The differences between active/passive-carbonation together with reaction mechanisms are expounded. • Fabrication and influence factors on engineering and environmental properties are systematically reviewed. • CO 2 -cured cement-based composites exhibit excellent resistance to aggressive conditions. • The challenges and opportunities in the CO 2 curing method are innovatively discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]