Pillar[n]arenes are a novel class of macrocyclic hosts reported by Ogoshi and co-workers in 2008. Because of their rigid pillar structures, interesting host–guest properties and ease of modifications, pillar[n]arenes have been developed rapidly in the field of functional materials and biomedicine. The modifications of pillar[n]arenes at different positions can give them varied characteristics. Functional groups can be introduced into one position of pillar[n]arenes without changing host–guest properties of pillar[n]arenes. A series of pillar[n]arene dimers, trimers, tetramers and metallacycles can be constructed by mono-functionalized pillar[n]arenes. In this review, two synthetic methods of mono-functionalized pillar[n]arenes are summarized and structures containing mono-functionalized pillar[n]arenes are described. Furthermore, the applications of mono-functionalized pillar[n]arenes in different fields (e.g., supramolecular polymers, sensors, molecular machines, catalysis, biological applications and light-harvesting systems) are also introduced. Hopefully, this article will be useful for researchers studying pillar[n]arenes, especially the mono-functionalized pillar[n]arenes.