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Water soluble polymer flocculants are important constituents of solid–liquid separation units for the treatment of a variety of process‐affected effluents. The systematic development of a flocculant relies on a good understanding of flocculation process, polymer synthesis, polymer characterization, and, not the least, flocculation performance assessment as desired for a particular treatment process, all of which are essential to establish meaningful relationships between flocculant microstructure and flocculation efficiency. The aim of this article is to communicate the bigger picture of this research area to the readers. The recent advances in the application of bio/natural, synthetic, and stimuli‐responsive flocculants are reviewed. Then, the basic polymer reaction engineering tools to control the microstructure of flocculants are provided and the techniques for the quantification of flocculant microstructure are concisely discussed. This is followed by a review of the methods used for the characterization of particle‐polymer force measurement, and flocculation/dewatering assessment with attention to the characterization of aggregate structures.