The present paper briefly reviews the development progress of solid-liquid phase change materials, particularly the nano-porous shape-stabilized phase change materials. We outline the designs and syntheses of the heat storage functional materials and the thermophysical mechanism of loading, crystallization, and thermal transport in nano-confined space. Besides, the remarkable methods to enhance the heat storage and release performance of heterogeneous materials are included. However, at present, the single-size porous materials cannot satisfy the requirements for high heat storage/release rate and great thermal energy density simultaneously. Based on this, the novel hierarchical porous frameworks materials are explored to overcome these obstacles. For this purpose, some scientific problems, opportunities, and challenges are summarized at the end of this paper.