Polymeric gel-based soft actuators exhibiting tissue-matched Young’s modulus (10 Pa-1 MPa) promise to be core components in future soft robotics with inherently safe human-machine interactions. However, these materials are still in their infancy, and many significant challenges remain presenting impediments to their practical implementation, including poor mechanical properties, slow actuation speed and limited actuation performance. In our lab, we propose molecular design principles to overcome these limitations. First, our molecular design concepts to improve mechanical properties of hydrogel actuators will be introduced. I will also talk about our strategies to realize fast actuation speed. In addition, how to design strong and fast hydrogel actuators will be discussed. Finally, our recent progress in realizing high values in several aspects of actuation performance metrics for this class of materials will be introduced.