From the conventional use of biomass in the form of heating to the modern day use of biomass in the form of electricity generation and biofuel production, biomass has always been part of the evolution of mankind. Modern day use of biomass is gradually becoming more complex, and engineering played an important role in defining different directions. This review provides an overall view of biomass utilization through thermal treatment including combustion, pyrolysis, and gasification. Efficient use of biomass with the desired output and minimizing the drawbacks are the core of the research, and marginal focus is being held on developing new techniques. The variety of composition and uptake of different elements throughout the lifespan of biomass produces a mixture of results. In general, it can be seen that the optimization was observed either in the form of chemical looping combustion to prevent greenhouse gas emission or in upgrading of bio-oil to produce biofuels. The significant factor is the reaction conditions, which define the ultimate product yield and the products' performance in different applications. Moreover, the development of new systems is desired in the present scenario due to the limited possibility of further improvement in the current systems.