Concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) structure offers numerous structural benefits, and has been widely used in civil engineering structures. This paper reviews the development of the family of concrete-filled steel tubular structures to date and draws a research framework on CFST members. The research development on CFST structural members in most recent years, particularly in China, is summarized and discussed. The current design approaches from various countries are examined briefly. Some projects in China utilizing CFST members are also introduced. Finally, some concluding remarks are made for CFST members. •We summarize various types of CFST members.•We advise research framework and a recent research review on CFST members.•We present various projects using CFST members in China.