Abstract: Instanton Floer homology together with the Donaldson-invariant has played a central role in understanding many exotic phenomena in 4-manifold topology. In this talk, I will discuss some recent applications of instanton Floer homology to studying exotica via the TQFT-like structures within the theory together with actions of symmetry. This is based on a joint work with Alfieri, Dai, and Taniguchi. I will also share updates on related ongoing work with Dai and Taniguchi.