With the continuous development of major engineering projects and high-tech equipment, the service environments for materials have become increasingly extreme and complex, showing harsh conditions such as high temperature, high pressure, severe corrosion, and radiation, as well as multi-factor coupled complexities. These conditions significantly affect the surface and interface behavior of materials, leading to degradation of service performance or even failure. In response to the service requirements of extreme and complex environments, surface and interface engineering has become a key technological means to improve the stability, reliability, and longevity of materials. This review summarized the recent research progress on the surface and interface behavior of materials in extreme and complex service environments. It discussed the material damage and failure mechanisms in high temperature, corrosive, and irradiative conditions, as well as surface coating technologies, interface modification methods, and multi-scale simulations and predictions. Based on the current research status and challenges, future research directions were proposed, including in-situ dynamic visualization of multi-factor coupled damage, artificial intelligence-assisted surface and interface studies, surface multi-functionalization and intelligent design, and green and sustainable surface and interface engineering. This article aims to provide a theoretical foundation and support for the in-depth study and practical application of materials in extreme and complex service environments and provide a scientific basis for policy making and industrial application.