Many heterogeneous catalysts are known to convert alkanes at high temperatures to a variety of products, but unfortunately most of these systems are not amenable to catalytic transformations since the reactive intermediate species are converted to different products in low yields. It is also observed that the product distribution in these reactions strongly depends on the parametric conditions. The commercial interest as the industrially applicable process for the selective oxidation of n-alkanes to give alcohols and carbonyl compounds is gaining a lot of significance in modern catalytic chemistry. Also, the production of hydrogen gas from saturated hydrocarbons is one of the focus areas in the present scenario. This review article mainly focuses on important methodologies adopted to activate CH bonds of n-alkanes by various heterogeneous catalysts by highlighting their strengths as well as drawbacks. As there is a demand in searching for the new techniques and modifications to the existing methodologies for the functionalization of n-alkanes, the factors that can influence the efficiency and selectivity of desired products will be highlighted.