Conventional ceramic fabrication typically requires sintering at high temperatures of exceeding 1000 ℃, which inevitably leads to grain growth and increased porosity. Recent advances on low-temperature ceramic processing have reduced the sintering temperature of certain materials at 300-800 ℃. However, this still falls short of the ultimate goal of achieving true room-temperature or genuinely low-temperature fabrication. In contrast, living organisms can produce biominerals, such as tooth enamel and mollusk shells, that exhibit complex hierarchical structures and outstanding mechanical properties under mild environmental conditions, including ambient temperature, pressure, and near-neutral pH value. These biominerals are structurally dense and often combine high strength with high toughness, offering a paradigm and inspiration for materials science. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the formation processes and densification mechanisms of biominerals is of great significance for developing innovative technologies to fabricate high-performance ceramic materials at room or low temperatures.

This review introduces the development and challenges of low-temperature ceramic preparation technologies. It systematically traces the technological evolution in this field, from the early use of hydrothermal hot-pressing for calcium carbonate ceramics to liquid-phase-assisted methods for Li₂MoO₄ ceramics, and further to the expansion into functional ceramic systems. Based on a critical assessment of the advantages and limitations of existing processes, the constraints hindering their broader engineering applications are analyzed.

The review focuses on the strategies employed in biomineralization for room-temperature fabrication, with a particular emphasis on the formation mechanisms of typical biominerals such as shells and enamel. A common feature identified across these processes is the use of amorphous precursor phases. Concurrently, various organic components perform highly specific regulatory roles at different mineralization stages, collectively ensuring a controlled transformation from the amorphous precursor to the final crystalline structure. This biogenic mechanism offers a paradigm-shifting concept for ceramic densification. It is possible to achieve controlled phase transformation and densification at room or low temperatures through the precise design of amorphous precursors and under the regulatory influence of organic components.

This review also discusses recent research progress on bioprocessing inspired techniques for fabricating ceramic materials and high-performance composites at room/low temperatures. Densification methods developed by emulating biomineralization strategies adopt the core concept of using amorphous precursors, thereby enabling the low-temperature fabrication of dense ceramics. A distinctive advantage of this approach lies in its use of the intrinsic structural water within the precursor as a transport medium, eliminating the need for additional liquid phases. This yields structures with more homogeneous compositions and fewer defects, leading to a superior mechanical performance. Furthermore, the integration of hierarchical structural designs can further enhance material toughening and strengthening. This review further summarizes the principles that can guide the improvement of mechanical properties in the design and fabrication of bioprocessing inspired materials. It is evident that achieving high-performance composites is not merely the simple application of a single biomimetic strategy, but rather requires the systematic and synergistic integration of multiple principles, demanding a balanced consideration of various factors in different length scales.