Abstract: Plant factory is a highly intensive, technology-driven agricultural production system that enables year-round, continuous crop cultivation within fully enclosed or semi-enclosed facilities through precise, computer-controlled management of environmental factors such as light, temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, and nutrient solutions. Regarded as the most advanced stage of facility agriculture, it fundamentally decouples food production from traditional constraints like arable land, climate, and seasonality. The global impetus for its development stems from a confluence of pressing challenges: rapid population growth projected to reach 9.5 billion by 2050, concurrent contraction of per capita arable land, increasing consumer demand for clean, safe, and pesticide-free produce, and a severe aging crisis within the agricultural workforce. In response, the plant factory industry has witnessed explosive growth, with market analysts predicting a compound annual growth rate exceeding ten percent and a market value soaring into tens of billions of United States dollars within the next five to ten years. This article provides a comprehensive systematic review of the global plant factory sector. It traces the historical evolution of the technology over seven decades, from early pioneering systems in Denmark and the United States in the 1950s to the contemporary era of innovation led by light emitting diode lighting and digital automation. The review highlights the distinct development trajectories in different regions: the early technological leadership and sustained policy support in Japan; the rapid scaling and venture capital-driven models in the United States and Europe; and the remarkably swift, large-scale industrialization in China, which, despite a later start, has leveraged significant investment and manufacturing prowess to become a global leader in both the number and scale of operational facilities.The core of the discussion focuses on recent technological advancements that define the modern "smart" plant factory. These include: 1) Light Efficiency Enhancement, primarily through the adoption and optimization of light emitting diode lighting systems, where research into light recipes, meaning spectral composition, intensity, and photoperiod, tailored to specific crops and growth stages has dramatically improved photon efficacy and reduced energy consumption; 2) Vertical Spatial Expansion, involving multi-layer cultivation racking systems that increase land use efficiency by over 100 times, though this introduces complex challenges in maintaining uniform environmental conditions across layers; and 3) Mechanization, Automation, and Intelligent Decision-Making, encompassing robotics for seeding, transplanting, and harvesting, integrated sensor networks for real-time monitoring, and the application of data analysis, artificial intelligence, and predictive models for optimized climate and nutrient management. Despite its promise, the path to widespread commercialization is hindered by significant bottlenecks. The primary constraints are the "high capital expenditure" for infrastructure and specialized equipment, and the substantial "operational expenditure", dominated by electricity costs for lighting and cooling, which can account for 25-30% of costs. These factors contribute to challenging economics, with many facilities struggling to achieve profitability without premium product pricing. Furthermore, cultivating consumer recognition and a differentiated market for plant factory products remains a protracted endeavor in many regions. To overcome these barriers and unlock sustainable growth, a multi-faceted strategic approach is necessary. In technology, continuous research and development is crucial to further drive down energy consumption, for example through next-generation light emitting diodes and efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning designs, and automate labor-intensive tasks. In economic, strategies must focus on reducing both capital expenditure, via standardized modular designs and use of existing urban spaces, and operational expenditure, through energy innovations. In politics, government support in the form of strategic research and development funding, subsidies for energy efficiency, and policies that incentivize urban agriculture integration are vital. In Social, public engagement and education are needed to build market acceptance for the value proposition of locally grown, consistent, and ultra-fresh produce. In conclusion, plant factories represent a transformative model for sustainable and resilient food production. Their future success hinges on synergistic advancements across technology, business models, and supportive policy frameworks. By addressing the current challenges, plant factories have the potential to play an increasingly critical role in enhancing food security, reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture, and creating a stable, high-technology food supply chain for urban.