Multi-component liquid droplets are useful systems to design particles with engineered solid structures by spray drying. However, the use of such process still presents some scientific challenges, such as the development of a model to precisely describe the final particle structure from the initial drying conditions and liquid formulation. This review brings together experimental and modeling studies that have been developed in the literature over the few last decades for a better understanding of the process of particle formation from a drying liquid droplet. To overcome such challenges, experimental studies at the spray scale and at the droplet scale have been proposed. Furthermore, modeling approaches have been suggested to represent the process of particle formation. The main existing models are well established for the first droplet drying phase, however, the processes of crust formation and development are more complex, which leaves space for further improvement of the proposed models. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.