Abstract: This paper reviews the research on deformationand fracture of the functionally ferromagnetic materials in the past severaldecades, especially in the recent decade or so. Problems of classicalmagnetoelasticity have been studied for a long time and a large numberof papersresults have been published. Along with the development ofsmart materials and structures in recent years, the functionallyferromagnetic materials, such as the giant magnetostrictive materials ofrare earth, ferromagnetic shape memory alloys and the ferromagneticcomposites, have attracted great attention. A lot of studies concern thedeformation and fracture of the functionally ferromagnetic materials and theeffective properties of ferromagnetic composites. In this paper, abrief introduction is firstly given to the research background of theclassical magnetoelasticity and the mechanical and magnetic behavior of thetraditional ferromagnetic structures. The research achievements on deformation and fracture behavior of the softferromagnetic materials and the mechanics of the ferromagnetic compositesare presented and commented extensively. Also discussed are the authors'studiesin recent years both on the experimental techniques of thefunctionally ferromagnetic materials, and the theoretical work on themesomechanics of the ferromagnetic composites, the magnetomechanicaldeformation and fracture mechanics of the soft ferromagnetic materials andsmart ferromagnetic shape memory materials. Finally, some topics forfurther studies are pointed out.