Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) is a solid-state electrochemical device that converts the chemical energy of a fuel directly into electrical energy. Due to its multi-fold inherent advantages SOFC is projected as the power source for the future generation. All over the world, extensive research activities are being pursued for the past decade and accordingly an immense wealth of literature is available in this field of research. Though this field of research activity is very wide and multidisciplinary, this review is mainly directed towards the processing, properties and fabrication of the state of the art ceramic materials, viz., yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as the electrolyte material, Sr-doped LaMnO3 as the cathode material, Ni-YSZ cermet as the anode material and Ca-doped LaCrO3 as the interconnect material, that are being considered for the development of present day SOFC power modules. Special attention is given to the development of planar SOFC components fabrication taking into consideration the advantages of the planar design compared to the tubular design. A brief account of the future research and development direction is also discussed with an emphasis to widen the scope of materials research in the area of solid oxide fuel cells
