The paper describes recent research advances related to the porous membranes from crystalline polymers via diffusion-induced phase inversion. The isothermal phase diagram for ternary polymer systems

exhibiting both a solid-liquid and a liquid-liquid demixng gap

is an important tool to understand membrane formation. The solid-liquid demixing process gives rise to the uniform particulate morphology. the liquid-liquid demixing process contributes to the asymmetric spongy structures. As the result of competition between solid-liquid demixing and liquidliquid demixing

the membrane exhibits a structure containing features from both types of phase separations. Therefore

a wide variety of membrane morphologies can be synthesized. In the end

factors controlling membrane morphologies

such as polymer concentration of the casting solution

nonsolvent type

composition of the casting solution

composition of the coagulation bath

and operation temperature

are discussed in detail.