Owing to the low cost, high specific capacity and high safety, zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have great advantages in replacing lithium-ion batteries to meet future demand for energy storage. Manganese-based cathode materials, benefiting from the abundant reserves, non-toxic, acceptable capacity and long cycle stability, have been widely developed and applied to develop high performance ZIBs. Unfortunately, poor conductivity, Mn 2 + dissolution and unstable structure hinder it to achieve an ideal electrochemical performance. Thus, an overview of the cathodic performance optimization strategies and the synthesis is provided. Firstly, the synthesis methods and their influence on the morphology and structure are summarized. Secondly, various strategies of performance optimization, including structure design, compositing with conductive materials, preintercalation, defect engineering and electrochemical activation, are categorized and analyzed in detail. Lastly, perspectives on the subsequent performance optimization are proposed. It is expected that this review will be beneficial to future scientific research on tailoring manganese-based cathode materials for ZIBs.