Thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) play a pivotal role in protecting the hot structures of modern turbine engines in aerospace as well as utility applications. To meet the increasing efficiency of gas turbine technology, worldwide research is focused on designing new architecture of TBCs. These TBCs are mainly fabricated by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) as it is more economical over the electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) technology. Notably, bi-layered, multi-layered and functionally graded TBC structures are recognized as favorable designs to obtain adequate coating performance and durability. In this regard, an attempt has been made in this article to highlight the structure, characteristics, limitations and future prospects of bi-layered, multi-layered and functionally graded TBC systems fabricated using plasma spraying and its allied techniques like suspension plasma spray (SPS), solution precursor plasma spray (SPPS) and plasma spray –physical vapor deposition (PS-PVD).