The development of new fuel sources to replace nonrenewable fossil fuels has received substantial attention due to the ongoing demand for fossil fuels. Biomass and raw waste materials are crucial sources to produce suitable alternative fuels instead of nonrenewable fuels and offer a greener approach. Therefore, improving the fuel properties of biooils produced from the thermochemical conversion of biomass and raw waste materials is critical as it is used as an alternative to nonrenewable fuel. Developing an economical and eco-friendly method to produce sustainable and renewable oil by improving biooil containing large amounts of phenolic compounds has become imperative. One of the most intriguing and promising technologies for refining biooil to produce renewable fuels of comparable quality to conventional fossil fuels is the hydrodeoxygenation (HDO)-based process for converting biooil to renewable fuels. This method is almost one of the best improving methods described in the literature. At this point, it is of great importance that the HDO process is carried out catalytically. Carbon materials are preferred for both designing catalysts for HDO and supporting metal nanoparticles by providing chemically inert surfaces and tunable functional groups, high surface area and active sites. The HDO of biomass and raw waste materials has significantly advanced thanks to carbon-based catalysts. In this review, the effect of the surface character and catalytic ability of the carbon support, especially prepared by the green synthesis technique, on the HDO reaction during biooil improvement is discussed. Moreover, HDO reaction parameters and recent studies have been investigated in depth. Thus, green carbon catalysts’ role in clean fuel production via the HDO process has been clarified.