The electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into valuable carbon-based compounds has attracted considerable attention. In the quest for efficient electrocatalysts, strain engineering, characterized by localized relative deformation, has emerged as a particularly advantageous strategy for designing highly selective and efficient electrocatalysts. This review focuses on the development of strain in electrocatalytic materials for CO₂ reduction reactions. It starts by explaining the characteristics of various strains and their formation mechanisms. Subsequently, it provides a summary of recent research progress in CO₂ electrocatalytic reduction based on strain engineering. During electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction reactions, strain plays a crucial role in influencing the adsorption energy between various intermediates and catalyst substrates. Finally, the review looks ahead to the future prospects of strain engineering, discussing potential research directions in this field. This work presents a systematic review of constructing strain for CO₂ reduction reactions, offering valuable insights into the design of highly efficient electrocatalysts.