Heat pumps (HPs) are part of the environmentally friendly technologies using renewable energy and have been utilized in the developed countries for years. Wastewater is seen as a renewable heat source for HPs. At the beginning of the 1980s, waste (sewage) water source heat pumps (WWSHPs) were widely applied in North European countries like Sweden and Norway and partially applied in China. In the past two decades, the WWSHP has become increasingly popular due to its advantages of relatively higher energy utilization efficiency and environmental protection. The present study comprehensively reviews WWSHP systems in terms of applications and performance assessments including energetic, exergetic, environmental and economic aspects for the first time to the best of the authors' knowledge. In this context, a historical development of WWSHPs was briefly given first. Next, wastewater potential and its characteristics were presented while a WWSHP system was introduced. The previously conducted studies on WWSHPs were then reviewed and classified in a tabulated form. Finally, some concluding remarks were listed. The COP values of the reviewed studies ranged from 1.77 to 10.63 for heating and 2.23 to 5.35 for cooling based on the experimental and simulated values. The performance assessments are mostly made using energy analysis methods while the number of exergetic evaluations is very low and has not been comprehensively performed. It is expected that the comprehensive review here will be very beneficial to those dealing with the design, analysis, simulation and performance assessment of WWSHP systems. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.