The incidence of urinary stones is high, with reported prevalence rates of 1% to 5% in Asia, 5% to 9% in Europe, 13% in North America, and 20% in Saudi Arabia. Because of its high recurrence rate, it has become a clinically important disease. A large sample of investigators reported that the risk of stone recurrence is 67% within 9 years and 75% within 25 years. The causes of stones can be attributed to two factors: environmental and internal. Diet certainly influences the formation and recurrence of urinary stones, but there is still a lot of controversy about the role of dietary intake of calcium, oxalic acid, fat and alcohol in promoting or inhibiting urinary stones. Nevertheless, diet is a promising treatment for urinary stones as a preventive measure for a chronic and multifaceted disease. Diet can influence the composition and pH of the urine, thus affecting stone nucleation and growth. Random changes in dietary regimen during daily life can be extremely harmful to stone patients. Proper dietary control can be beneficial in preventing recurrent urinary stone disease in most patients. The principles of stone recurrence prevention are water intake (maintaining a daily urine output of at least 2,000 ml) and a balanced dietary lifestyle.