Abstract: Biological organs such as gecko toes have long fascinated scientists due to their remarkable ability to achieve strong yet reversible adhesion. This capability is largely attributed to the presence of flexible fibrous structures that grow on the surface of these organs, enabling them to make discrete conformal contact with surfaces. The underlying mechanisms, including contact-splitting and crack trapping, allow for the accumulation of van der Waals forces, which are pivotal in generating the exceptional reversible adhesion observed in geckos. During their climbing activities, geckos also secreted free lipid molecules resulting from cohesive failure within the adhesive structures. These lipid molecules formed a protective film on the microstructure of the toes, which served to prevent prolonged wear and tear, thereby ensuring the durability and longevity of the reversible adhesion capability. Inspired by these biological principles, researchers had developed a class of surface-structured functional materials known as gecko-inspired dry-state reversible adhesive materials (commonly referred to as reversible adhesive materials). These materials were characterized by a microscopic adhesion mechanism that is fundamentally different from traditional chemical bonding. They exhibited unique properties such as reversible and controllable adhesion, as well as non-destructive bonding and debonding. Over the past two decades, significant progress had been made in the development of these materials, which now showed great promise for a wide range of applications. These included controlled gripping-release mechanisms, controlled transport systems, assisted climbing technologies, and non-destructive bonding-debonding processes, with potential applications in areas such as on-orbit servicing technology, the electronics industry, and biomedical fields. This paper systematically reviewed the research progress in reversible adhesive materials by tracing the evolution of understanding in biological reversible adhesion mechanisms. It covered various stages of development, from simple geometric structures to complex multiscale architectures and controllable responsive materials, while also discussing the challenges and potential future directions in this exciting field of study.