Phenol and its derivatives are fundamental building blocks in organic synthesis and materials science. Over the past decades, tremendous attention has been paid to construct functionalized phenols, and various methods have been developed. Owing to the high efficiency and mild reaction conditions, synthesis of phenols from the hydroxylation of aryl boronic compounds has been emerging as a promising approach. In this review, we summarize the progress using aryl boronic compounds as starting reagents to synthesize phenol deriva- [a]