In recent years, the use of plasma-sprayed protective coatings has gained increasing acceptance for prolonging the service life of critical components exposed to aggressive environments during normal operation. This paper is aimed at providing an overview of the current state-of-the-art of the plasma coating technology. It includes a brief discussion of the various important aspects associated with the development of reliable protective coatings as well as their evaluation, and outlines some noteworthy advances made in the field of plasma spray materials and equipment in the past few years. The various factors influencing the coating quality are identified and the wide-ranging utility of plasma-sprayed coatings is also highlighted.