Dusty plasma liquids are formed by suspending negatively charged micro-metre sized particles in a low pressure discharge background. They are good candidates for studying the generic spatio-temporal dynamical behaviours at the kinetic level through direct optical video-microscopy due to the sub-mm interparticle spacing and the slow time scale. In this paper, starting from the basic picture of the avalanche type stick–slip cooperative hopping process under the interplay of mutual coupling and stochastic thermal agitation, we briefly review our recent study on particle micro-motion and the associated structural rearrangement. The effects of mesoscopic confinement and external slow shear drive are also discussed.