Due to the highest theoretical specific capacity of 4200 mA h g−1 for Li4.4Si, silicon(Si)-based materials could fulfill the increasing demands of high-energy lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the intrinsic huge volume expansion during the lithiation/delithiation process results in rapid capacity decay and short cycle life and restricts the satisfactory electrical performance of Si-based anodes. Binder plays an important role of maintaining the contact integrity between active material, conductive additive and the current collector, thereby reducing the pulverization of the Si particles during charge/discharge. Here, the review systematically summarizes the synthesis methods, design principles and working mechanisms, including chemical composition, superstructure, and various interactions between different functional moieties of synthetic binders and natural biomass binders, to reveal the structure-composition-performance relationship, offer practical solutions to challenging problems associated with defects of Si-based electrode materials in LIBs and aim at exploiting new family of binders that could be used in industrial level as well as providing design principles for other electrode binders in rechargeable batteries. Display omitted •Working mechanisms and design principles of Si-based anodes binders are presented.•Synergistic strategy of combining binders with anode structure design is discussed.•Synthesis methods, applied anodes, ICE and cycling performance are listed.