The fractional quantum Hall (FQH) effect refers to the strongly-correlated phenomena and the associated quantum phases of matter realized in a two-dimensional gas of electrons placed in a large perpendicular magnetic field. In such systems, topology and quantum mechanics conspire to give rise to exotic physics that manifests via robust quantization of the Hall resistance. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the experimental phenomenology of the FQH effect in GaAs-based semiconductor materials and present its theoretical interpretations in terms of trial wave functions, composite fermion quasiparticles, and enigmatic non-Abelian states. We also highlight some recent developments, including the parton theory and the Dirac composite fermion field theory of FQH states, the role of anisotropy and geometrical degrees of freedom, and quantum entanglement in FQH fluids.