In recent years, research in the field of hydrophobic, smart coatings with multiple properties has increased sharply as an innovative and suitable solution to address environmental and industrial problems in areas with adverse weather conditions. Despite decades of research efforts that demonstrate the capabilities of self-cleaning and antibacterial coatings, they have not been transferred to the market due to the lack of mechanical strength of the topography at the micro-nano scale and the stability of low-surface energy molecules, the expensive coating method, and the high toxicity of the nanomaterials used. Today, nanotechnology is developing at an ever-increasing pace. So that today, most research is focused on the design and construction of environmentally friendly, cleaner, lighter, and more efficient structures and buildings. On the other hand, smart coatings are coatings that provide a spontaneous response to environmental changes such as light radiation, wettability, temperature, pressure, and pH changes. The aim of designing such coatings is to achieve higher performance, increase product lifetime and significantly reduce maintenance costs. In this article, we have reviewed recent studies in the field of self-cleaning and hydrophobic coatings based on semiconductor materials and compared them.