As humanity embarks on a quest for sustainable energy solutions, nuclear fusion is gaining momentum, emerging as a beacon of hope and offering transformative solutions to pressing environmental challenges and concerns. This work provides an overview of the fundamentals of nuclear fusion, its historical development, and the current state of research. Furthermore, it focuses on one of the critical aspects of fusion energy development: material selection. The success of fusion as a viable energy source hinges on the development of materials capable of withstanding the extreme conditions within a fusion reactor, including high temperatures, intense radiation, corrosive environments and mechanical loads.