Exergy-based methods are powerful tools for developing, evaluating, understanding, and improving energy conversion systems. In addition to conventional methods, advanced exergy-based analyses consider (a) the interactions among components of the overall system, and (b) the real potential for improving each important system component. The main role of an advanced analysis is to provide energy conversion system designers and operators with information useful for improving the design and operation of such systems. This presentation will include the advanced exergy-based evaluations and optimization methods as well. Advanced exergy-based method means splitting the exergy destruction, the capital investment cost, and the component-related environmental impact associated with each single component of an energy conversion system into endogenous/exogenous and avoidable/unavoidable parts and using a further splitting of the exogenous exergy destruction improves (a) our understanding of the processes that take place, and (b) the quality of the conclusions for improvement obtained from the analysis. It will be discussed the main features and some recent developments in the area of advanced exergy-based methods. Application of the method to different energy-conversion systems will be demonstrated.