Renal tumor scoring systems are recently proposed quantitative criteria for describing the complexity of renal tumors. They are based on the anatomical characteristics of renal tumors, such as size, relationship to the collecting system and renal sinus, and consist of several variables, each of which is quantitatively scored for guiding clinicians to rationally select surgical modalities, and predict perioperative complications and prognosis. In this paper, we review several renal tumor scoring systems recently reported in the literature both at home and abroad, analyze their respective characteristics and clinical application value, and assess their ability to guide clinicians in rationally selecting surgical strategies.