Malaysia is the second largest palm oil producer in the world. This review article highlights the performance of the industry in 2023 and the recent R&D progress throughout the entire supply chain. This is aimed at providing future directions for a resilient and sustainable oil palm industry. Crude palm oil production increased slightly despite a slight decrease in planted area, due to a 1.9% rise in fresh fruit bunches (FFB) yield per hectare and a 0.8% improvement in oil extraction rate (OER). Challenges persisted, with a 3.9% decline in exports and an 8.1% increase in average closing stocks due to weakened global demand. Efforts to enhance upstream processes include integrated pest and disease management, and precision agriculture. Advancements in biotechnology research have continuously boosted oil yield and value, while the processing sector evolves to manage carbon emissions and utilise palm biomass more efficiently. The versatility of palm oil enables research on value addition in food and eco-friendly oleochemical products in the global markets. While the industry is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, technology advancement through R&D endeavours focused on leveraging artificial intelligence for plantation and milling management, as well as identifying novel genetic modifications and palm-based ingredients for improved applications, is warranted.