Metastatic renal cell carcinoma accounts for 20%-30% of newly diagnosed renal cell carcinoma and its prognosis is poor. It is not sensitive to radiotherapy or chemotherapy, and traditional cytokine therapy has limited efficacy in patient with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. In recent years, with the emergence of targeted drugs and immune checkpoint inhibitors, the survival of patients with metastatic renal cancer has been greatly improved. This article reviews treatment and research progress of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. It mainly introduces the medical treatment, including cytokine therapy, targeted therapy and emerging immunotherapy, and further analyzes the value of cytoreductive nephrectomy in the context of targeted therapy. The purpose of this article is to provide evidence for reasonable choices of treatment regimens in order to better guide clinical treatment.