Aliphatic/alicyclic (Al)-containing polyimides (PIs), including fully-Al-PIs and partially-Al-PIs, are widely employed in electric, electronics, optical materials, and other advanced material fields. Examples include high speed multiplayer printed wiring boards, alignment films for liquid-crystal displays, fuel cells, batteries, gas separation membranes, pervaporation membranes, biomedical applications, and composites/hybrid materials. In the past decades, research has focused on the synthesis and molecular design of fully-Al-PIs and partially-Al-PIs. However, the effects of aliphatic/alicyclic segments on the performance of fully-Al-PIs and partially-Al-PIs and their potential applications are not clear. Therefore, an overall clarification of aliphatic/alicyclic-containing monomers, the effects of aliphatic/alicyclic segments on PI performance, as well as recent applications for advanced technology are important topics for further study. This review systematically summarizes the available aliphatic/alicyclic monomers and clarifies the influence of aliphatic/alicyclic-containing segments in chain backbones on the morphology and properties of the resulting PIs. Further, the use of PIs in applications for advanced materials is discussed, along with the outlook for the future of aliphatic/alicyclic-containing polyimides and their advanced applications. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.