By early 2025, the number of completed and under-construction rock-filled concrete (RFC) dams had reached 200. Among them, the Zhouyuan RFC gravity dam with a height of 100 m had commenced construction. Concurrently, the Code for Design of Rock-Filled Concrete Dams (NB/T 10077-2024) was issued. These events indicate that RFC dam construction technology has achieved maturity after more than 20 years of development. The development process of RFC dam construction technology from its initial invention to gradual maturity was reviewed and divided into four key stages, the main technical problems and research achievements obtained in different stages were introduced, the main progress on fundamental research related to RFC was summarized, and the construction status of typical RFC dams as well as the continuous development and improvement process of the technical standard system for RFC dams were presented, so as to help readers better understand the evolution of RFC dams, point out the direction for future development, and promote the progress of RFC dam technology.