There have been ongoing research efforts focused on layering or zoning different washcoats/active metals on the catalysts constituting diesel aftertreatment systems: the diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst, the lean NOX trap (LNT), the ammonia slip catalyst (ASC), and the diesel particulate filter (DPF). This review paper aims to shed insight into the state-of-the-art research on catalyst design in this area and how these catalyst designs may evolve to tackle engine emission reductions in the future. First, we discuss the motivation for zoning or layering catalysts and pioneering work on three-way catalyst (TWC) design for reducing gasoline engine emissions; then, we focus on the catalytic systems used for diesel exhaust aftertreatment. The configuration of the aftertreatment systems for diesel engines generally consist of an oxidation catalyst for hydrocarbon (HC), CO, and NO oxidation (over the DOC), a NOX reduction catalyst (over one or combined SCR/LNT/ASC catalysts), and a particulate matter (PM) filter (using a DPF). The research to date consistently demonstrates that zoning and layering catalyst regions leads to improved performance and/or smaller system volumes required.