This magazine, as its editors announce, is intended to be "a clearing house of information and thought," and, as far as the Institute of Technology is concerned, "to increase its power, to minimize its waste, to insure [sic] among its countless friends the most perfect co-operation.

"The career path of James Rhyne Killian illustrates the close ties between Technology Review and the Institute.

The May 4, 1929, issue contained an article by Dr. Norbert Wiener, then Assistant Professor of Mathematics, describing some deficiencies in a paper Albert Einstein had published earlier that year.

A 1980 issue contained an article by Jerome Wiesner attacking the Reagan administration's nuclear defense strategy.

Of its writing style, writer George V. Higgins complained: Technology Review, according to [then-editor] Stephen [sic] Marcus... [subjects] its scientific contributors to rewrite rigors that would give fainting spells to the most obstreperous cub reporter.

[11]In 1984, Technology Review printed an article about a Russian scientist using ova from frozen mammoths to create a mammoth-elephant hybrid called a "mammontelephas".

According to previous publisher William J. Hecht, although Technology Review had "long been highly regarded for its editorial excellence," the purpose of appointing Journey was to enhance its "commercial potential" and "secure a prominent place for Technology Review in the competitive world of commercial publishing.

"[16] John Benditt replaced Steven J. Marcus as editor-in-chief, the entire editorial staff was fired, and the modern Technology Review was born.

Boston Globe columnist David Warsh[17] described the transition by saying that the magazine had been serving up "old 1960s views of things: humanist, populist, ruminative, suspicious of the unseen dimensions of new technologies" and had now been replaced with one that "takes innovation seriously and enthusiastically."

Technology Review covers breakthroughs and current issues on fields such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, and computing.

By 2003, circulation had more than tripled from 92,000 to 315,000, about half that of Scientific American, and included 220,000 paid subscribers and 95,000 sent free to MIT alumni.

Additionally, in August 2003, a German edition of Technology Review was started in cooperation with the publishing house Heinz Heise (circulation of about 50,000 as of 2005).

In 1999 The Boston Globe noted that (apart from the alumni section) "few Technology Review articles actually concern events or research at MIT.

[26] MIT sued[27] Fortune's parent corporation, Time, Inc. for infringement of the Technology Review trademark.

Technology Review's Web site, Pontin said, would henceforth publish original, daily news and analysis (whereas before it had merely republished the print magazine's stories).

[36] Without evident comment, the July/August, 2017, issue revealed a shift in top personnel, with Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau listed as Chief Executive Officer and Publisher, and David Rotman as Editor.

In 2005, this list was renamed the TR35 and shortened to 35 individuals under the age of 35. Notable recipients of the award include Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, PayPal co-founder Max Levchin, Geekcorps creator Ethan Zuckerman, Linux developer Linus Torvalds, BitTorrent developer Bram Cohen, MacArthur "genius" bioengineer Jim Collins, investors Micah Siegel and Steve Jurvetson, and Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen.

[43] In 2010, Technology Review won the gold and silver prizes for best full issue of a technology magazine (for its November and June 2009 issues) and the gold, silver, and bronze prizes for best single article in a technology magazine (for "Natural Gas Changes the Energy Map" by David Rotman;[44] “Prescription: Networking” by David Talbot;[45] and "Chasing the Sun" by David Rotman)[46] in the Folio Magazine Eddie Awards.

[53] That same year, Technology Review won third place in the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) Digital Awards for best online videos.

by David Rotman[56] and the silver prize for best online community in the Folio Magazine Eddie Awards.

[64] That same year, MIT Technology Review won the gold prize for best feature design (for "The Library of Utopia" by Nicholas Carr)[63] in the Folio Magazine Ozzie Awards.