Rutile is an important accessory mineral phase in crust-forming rocks. It remains in great stability during various geological processes. The trace elemental and isotopic characteristics in rutiles are widely used on the understanding of a variety of geological processes, including the overall mass balance of the Earth’s elements, the formation mechanism of the continental crust, source tracking of protolith of rutile-bearing rocks, P-T condition estimates of metamorphic rocks, U-Pb geochronology, etc. In this paper, the authors try to summarize the latest developments in the field of rutile studies in recent years.