A major portion of the total primary energy consumed by today’s buildings is used in heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC). Conventional heating and cooling systems are having an impact on operational cost, energy requirement and carbon dioxide emission. In this regard, Trombe walls are receiving considerable attention because of their potential ability for addressing the environmental and energy crisis. This paper reviews the most pertinent contents of studies on Trombe walls that have been carried out in the recent 15 years. According to utilizing functions of Trombe walls, they are divided into two major types: a heating-based type and a cooling-based type. In terms of content, we emphasize the introduction of three groups of parameters that be considered when designing Trombe walls: the ‘Trombe wall’ parameters, the ‘building’ parameters and the ‘site’ parameters. Then different evaluation indicators on Trombe walls have been summarized from three points of view: energy, environment and economic. We hope that this review is useful to academic researchers and can provide a reference for architects or related engineering designers in the field of passive design.