We present a review on some recent studies on the syntheses, structures and properties of amine-functionalized metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), and highlight the benefits of amino functionality towards potential applications. Owing to the strong interaction between CO2 and basic amino functionalities, amine-functionalized MOFs have attracted much attention mainly for CO2 capture. Besides the most widely used in situ synthesis method, post-modification and physical impregnation methods are developed to prepare amine-functionalized MOFs with extremely high CO2 sorption capacity at low pressures. On the basis of the similar mechanism, amine-functionalized MOF-based membranes, including pure amine-functionalized MOF membranes and mixed matrix membranes, exhibit excellent CO2/H2, CO2/CH4 and CO2/N2 separation performance. Furthermore, amine-functionalized MOFs also demonstrate potential applications in catalysis.