Macrocyclic arenes including calixarenes, resorcinarenes, cyclotriveratrylene, pillararenes and so on have emerged as highly attractive synthetic macrocyclic hosts due to their unique structures, facile functionalization, and broad range of applications. In recent years, there has been growing interest in the development of novel macrocyclic arenes composed of various aromatic building blocks bridged by methylene groups, which have found applications in various research areas. Consequently, the development of novel macrocyclic arenes has become a frontier and hot topic in supramolecular and macrocyclic chemistry. In this review, we feature the recent advances in the synthesis and applications of novel macrocyclic arenes that have emerged in the last decade. The general synthetic strategies employed for these macrocyclic arenes are systematically summarized, and their wide applications in molecular recognition and assemblies, molecular machines, biomedical science and functional materials are highlighted.