Methanol is attracting growing interest as one of promising ultra-clean liquid fuels. Low-temperature methanol synthesis (LTMS) rapidly proceeds in a liquid medium at temperatures thermodynamically favorable for the formation of methanol (approximately 373 K), in the presence of appropriate catalytic systems. It holds promise of a higher per pass conversion and a reduction in the methanol cost. In LTMS, methanol is rapidly produced through methyl formate from syngas. The latest developments in LTMS are reviewed. The overview includes the catalytic properties, reaction pathways and catalytically active species for both nickel/alkali alkoxide and copper/alkali alkoxide catalytic systems. Although the catalysts reported so far are highly active for the methanol production, they are vulnerable to trace amounts of CO₂ and H₂O due to the alkoxide component, which should result in a rapid deactivation.  A few attempts to solve the problem are proposed. In addition to the authors’ work, achievements by other research groups are also addressed.