Abstract In the current era of energy crises, alternative feedstock such as methanol are commonly used as fuels and solvents in various industries. Methanol is commonly produced from non-renewable sources. Recently, sustainable methanol synthesis via innovative and efficient catalytic processes has drawn a lot of attention and research is currently aimed at finding a suitable catalyst for optimized production at commercial scale. Nowadays, one of the main interests is catalytic synthesis of methanol from CO2. This work presents a critical review on innovative catalysts for methanol synthesis, research progress for their development and their use in the catalytic process. It also provides an overview on recent development in methanol synthesis from syngas, CO2 hydrogenation and photo-catalytic reduction of CO2. The use of various reactors, the influence of preparation method, support, promoter, different type of catalysts used, their properties and performance during methanol synthesis are also thoroughly reviewed.