Objective. Optimizing monolithic zirconia (ZrO2) aesthetically without affecting the uniquemechanical properties remains a major ongoing interest. The purpose of this review is toevaluate the improvement of recent monolithic ZrO2generations to meet aesthetic opti-mization qualities. Additionally, for how the extent of the former modifications negativelyaffected their mechanical properties and the impact on their clinical indications.Methods. The current literature examines in-vitro studies evaluating both monolithic ZrO2translucency and mechanical properties. The electronic search was done within thesedatabases: Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and PubMed within the period between2009/10/01 and 2019/10/31. Search results that met eligibility criteria were classified intofour groups; one for translucency parameter, two for uniaxial flexural strength and one forbiaxial strength.Results. Articles that remained for comprehensive analysis were fifty-three. They reporteda significant impact of composition, microstructure and surface treatment on translucencyand flexural strength assessment. Aging was found to be of no concern for zirconia struc-tures with high yttria content. Smooth surface polish was found to significantly enhancestrength while coarse grinding and mechanical fatigue was found to do the reverse.Significance. Based on analyzing the previous in-vitro studies the following was found:Although significant improvement has occurred with recent monolithic zirconia types withhigher yttria content having higher cubic/tetragonal ratio, they are still inferior to glass-ceramics’ unique translucency. With improving zirconia aesthetically, some of mechanicalperformance was sacrificed. Care must be taken when dealing with thin sections of aesthetic zirconia structures especially when used in high bearing stress areas.