The aim of this paper is to make a systematical study on the stability of polynomials in combinatorics. Applying the characterizations of Borcea and Brändén concerning linear operators preserving stability, we present criteria for real stability and Hurwitz stability. We also give a criterion for Hurwitz stability of the Turán expressions. As applications, we derive some stability results occurred in the literature in a unified manner. In addition, we obtain the Hurwitz stability of Turán expressions for alternating runs polynomials of types $A$ and $B$ and solve a conjecture concerning Hurwitz stability of alternating runs polynomials defined on a dual set of Stirling permutations. Furthermore, we prove that the Hurwitz stability of any symmetric polynomial implies its semi-$γ$-positivity. We study a class of symmetric polynomials and derive many nice properties including Hurwitz stability, semi-$γ$-positivity, non $γ$-positivity, unimodality, strong $q$-log-convexity, the Jacobi continued fraction expansion and the relation with derivative polynomials. In particular, these properties of the alternating descents polynomials of types $A$ and $B$ can be obtained in a unified approach. Finally, we use real stability to prove a criterion for zeros interlacing between a polynomial and its reciprocal polynomial, which implies the alternatingly increasing property. This criterion extends a result of Brändén and Solus and unifies such properties for many combinatorial polynomials, including ascent polynomials for $k$-ary words, descent polynomials on signed Stirling permutations and $q$-analog of descent polynomials on colored permutations, and so on. We prove the alternatingly increasing property and zeros interlacing for two kinds of peak polynomials on the dual set of Stirling permutations.