This Review discusses current advancements in thermotropic ionic liquid crystal design, synthesis, characterization, and application from 2005 to 2015. It was created to provide a thorough review of the “state-of-the-art” in the industry. Low molar mass and dendrimeric thermotropic ionic mesogens, as well as a few metal-containing compounds are the main topics of study. However, there will also be some references to lyotropic or polymeric ionic liquid crystals, and more specifically, to ionic liquids. The focus will be on liquid-crystalline materials made up of organic cations and inorganic/organic anions that are not covalently bonded but interact via electrostatic and other noncovalent interactions, but mesoionic and zwitterionic mesogens are also discussed to some extent.