In the past decade, silicon photonics has been making tremendous progress in terms of device functionality and performances as well as circuit integration for many practical applications ranging from communication, sensing, and information processing. This special issue, including four review articles and nine research articles, aims to provide a comprehensive overview of this exciting field. They offer a collective summary of recent progresses, in-depth discussions of the state-of-the-art, and insights into forthcoming developments that are well poised to drive silicon photonics technology into its next generation.