Thermoresponsive dendritic polymer is one of the important sub-units of smart materials. It possesses not only the character of thermoresponsive properties

but also the characters of high branching degree

high functionality

low viscosity etc. Such characters endow thermoresponsive dendritic polymers to attract wide attention and show wide potential applications in many fields

such as biomedical materials

smart catalysts

smart sensors

multifunctional materials. The synthetic methods of preparing such thermoresponsive dendritic polymers are versatile

which includes the introduction of specific units into the terminal groups of dendritic polymers or the variation of the ratio of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic units in the backbone of the polymers. This article reviews the preparation routes of different thermoresponsive dendritic polymers

their thermoresponsive mechanism and their potential applications in smart sensors

smart catalysts and multifunctional materials.