Large deformations of soft materials can give rise to the development of various elastic instabilities. The phenomenon is associated with a sudden and dramatic change in structure morphologies. The underlying mechanism is crucial for the formation of complex morphologies in biology. Moreover, the concept of instability-induced pattern transformations is promising for designing novel materials with switchable functions and properties. In this paper, we review the state of the art in elastic instability phenomena in soft materials. We start by considering the classical buckling in beam-based structure lattice designs. Then, we discuss the instability-induced microstructure transformations in soft porous materials, and heterogeneous multiphase and fiber composites. Next, the mechanisms – often involving the post-buckling consideration – leading to the wrinkling and folding, creasing, fringe, and fingering are discussed.

软材料的大变形会引起各种弹性不稳定性的发展。这种现象与结构形态的突然而剧烈的变化有关。潜在的机制对于生物学中复杂形态的形成至关重要。此外，不稳定性诱发的图案转换的概念对于设计具有可切换功能和特性的新型材料很有前途。在本文中，我们回顾了软材料中弹性不稳定性现象的最新技术。我们首先考虑基于梁的结构晶格设计中的经典屈曲。然后，我们讨论了在软质多孔材料以及非均质多相和纤维复合材料中由不稳定性引起的微观结构转变。下一个，