Energy crisis and environment deterioration are two major problems for 21st century. Thermoelectric device is a promising solution for those two problems. This review begins with the basic concepts of the thermoelectric and discusses its recent material researches about the figure of merit. It also reports the recent applications of the thermoelectric generator, including the structure optimization which significantly affects the thermoelectric generator, the low temperature recovery, the heat resource and its application area. Then it reports the recent application of the thermoelectric cooler including the thermoelectric model and its application area. It ends with the discussion of the further research direction. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.