Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has emerged as a transformative approach for cancer treatment, particularly in hematologic malignancies. However, barriers in the development of effective CAR-T therapies for solid tumors, including antigenic escape, tumor immunosuppressive microenvironments, severe toxicities, and limitations in preclinical models, hinder its scalability and broader clinical implementation. To overcome these barriers, strategies have been developed in recent years, such as optimizing CAR designs, enhancing CAR-T cell infiltration, neutralizing immunosuppressive cells, remodeling metabolism of CAR-T cells, eliminating antigen escape, mitigating toxicities, advancing preclinical models, and in situ programming CAR-T cells. Here, we discuss current barriers and potential strategies for CAR-T cell therapy in solid tumors. Ultimately, we present perspectives on these advanced strategies for broader clinical adoption of CAR-T cell therapy.© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc.