Van der Waals (vdW) materials have attracted extensive research interest in the field of strain engineering due to their unique structure and excellent performance. By changing the atomic lattice and electronic structure, strain can modulate the novel physical properties of vdW materials and generate new quantum states, ultimately realize high-performance electronic devices based on new principles. In this paper, we first comprehensively review various experimental strategies of inducing in-situ strain, which include the bending deformation of flexible substrates, mechanical stretching of microelectromechanical systems and electrodeformation of piezoelectric substrates. Then, we outline the recent research progresses of in-situ strain-modulated magnetism, superconductivity and topological properties in vdW materials, as well as the development of strain-related device applications, such as intelligent strain sensors and strain-programmable probabilistic computing. Finally, we examine the current challenges and provide insights into potential opportunities in the field of strain engineering.