At the frontier of electrocatalysis and heterogeneous reactions, significant effort has been devoted to Pt-based nanomaterials owing to their advantages of tunable morphology and excellent catalytic properties. In contrast to Ptbased nanocatalysts with other morphologies, nanowire catalysts, especially 1D ultrafine nanowire (NW) structure, are garnering increased attention because of their advantages of high atomic efficiency, intrinsic isotropy, rich high-index facets, better conductivity, robust structure stability for prohibiting dissolution, ripening, and aggregation. Regardless of these advantages, it is still challenging to realize the precise control of ultrafine Pt-based NWs in terms of their size, crystal phase structure, and composition. Aiming to synthesize advanced ultrafine Pt-based NWs catalysts with higher activity, durability, and selectivity toward catalytic reactions, this review summarizes the recently available approaches for improving the catalytic performance of ultrafine Pt-based NWs with detailed guidance. A summary of recent progress in ultrafine Pt-based NWs catalysts for advanced catalysis and heterogeneous reactions is also provided. Furthermore, integrated experimental and theoretical studies are reviewed to explain the activity, stability, and selectivity enhancement mechanism. In the final section, the challenges and outlook are also discussed to provide guidance for the rational engineering of efficient ultrafine Pt-based NWs catalysts for applications in renewable-energy-related devices.