To date, advanced patterning techniques lay the foundation of chip manufacturing and the development of modern information technology. With the continues shrinking of dimension of semiconductor devices, it is imperative for us to develop next-generation lithography (NGL) to meet the ever-stringent requirements of advanced technology nodes. Directed self-assembly (DSA), as a novel patterning technique, possesses high throughputs, high resolution, and low processing costs, and has been listed as a promising NGL candidate in the international roadmap for devices and systems. In this paper, we propose the combination of DSA with deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography, as a potential alternative of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, to manufacture sub-10 nm microelectronic devices. This hybrid patterning solution is expected to address the key issues related to advanced chip manufacturing in the domestic integrated circuit industry. The potentials of DSA lithography in terms of microphase separation theory of block copolymer, material availability, process flow, compatibility with conventional lithography, cost of ownership, defect density, etc. are critically examined. We also review the latest development of DSA implementation on 300 mm pivot lines. The pioneering work has fully demonstrated the viability of DSA in combination with DUV lithography for very large-scale integration manufacturing. To realize the full benefit of DSA lithography, further development of DSA-aware automatic design and the scalable synthesis of electronic grade polymer materials would be helpful for the establishment of the DSA ecosystem.