Lignin is a byproduct of the paper mill and second-generation (2G) ethanol biorefinery and the largest naturally available source of aromatic building blocks. It can serve as a feedstock to produce bulk, fine, and functionalized aromatic compounds along with aliphatic cyclic alcohols, jet fuel, and aliphatic hydrocarbons. Hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is one of the promising strategies to produce these compounds from lignin-derived phenolics. Many reactions occur during the HDO; hence, it is very crucial to design active, selective, and long-life catalysts and choose the optimal reaction conditions to synthesize targeted end products. Herein, we first survey the conventional and new lignin fractionation techniques and determine the lignin structure, composition, and bonding with cellulose and hemicellulose. After this, we review the recent advances in the production of alkanes, arenes, cyclic alcohols, jet fuel range hydrocarbons, and HDO of raw lignin bio-oil. This review exclusively discusses the product distribution during HDO based on catalyst composition, solvent, and reaction parameters. Moreover, the review also underlines the selectivity of various catalytic systems to yield specific products such as BTX, important petrochemical materials, aliphatic hydrocarbons, cyclic alcohols, and jet fuel range hydrocarbons.