Degradation of performance and life time of a functional material or device thereof is induced, to a great extent, by mass transfer in the material that is driven by various thermodynamic forces imposed intentionally or accidentally during its operation or service. The forces are any gradient of intensive thermodynamic variables, component chemical potentials, electrical potential, temperature, stresses, and the like. This paper reviews electric-field induced degradation phenomena in ionic solid compounds including insulation resistance degradation, crystal shift, microstructural alterations, compositional unmixing, and compound decomposition. Their inner workings are also discussed qualitatively.