To enhance the quality and transparency of oncology real-world evidence studies, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has developed the first specific reporting guidelines for oncology RWE studies in peer-reviewed journals ‘the ESMO Guidance for Reporting Oncology Real-World Evidence (GROW)’. To facilitate readers understanding and application of these reporting standards, this article introduces and interprets the development process and main content of the ESMO-GROW checklist.