Polyamide thin film composite (PA-TFC) membranes are becoming more and more widely used for water desalination both in industrial and experimental plants due to their superior properties. However, trade-off between the permeability and the salt rejections, fouling and chlorination are seriously restricting their better operational functions. Therefore, various strategies have been explored to tackle these problems, among which surface modifications (e.g., surface coating) and nanoparticles incorporations have been identified to be the most effective ones. Thus, in this review, the state-of-the-art developments and breakthrough in the surface modified and nanoparticles incorporated PA-TFC reverse osmosis (RO) membranes are focused and summarized combining with the prospects. This review provides comprehensive information and gives an outlook on the surface modifications and nanoparticles incorporations, which might supply some clues to explore more advanced and innovative strategies for improving the performance of the PA-TFC RO membranes. •The main drawbacks of the PA-TFC membranes are presented.•Strategies in improving the performance of PA-TFC membranes are reviewed.•Special focus is on surface modifications and nanoparticles incorporations.•Future developments in the focused special strategies are discussed.