Throughout the world, desalination is intensively used as a means to reduce current or future water scarcity, especially for the coastal areas. However, the dramatic increase in desalinated water supply will create a series of problems, the most significant of which are those related to energy consumption and environment impacts. Renewable energy provides an energy security and environmental friendly option simultaneously when decreasing global reserves of fossil fuels threatens the long-term sustainability of global economy. Thus, the integration of renewable resources in desalination and water purification is becoming increasingly attractive. In this paper an attempt has been made to present a review, in brief, work of the highlights that have been achieved during the recent years worldwide and the state-of-the-art for most important efforts in the field of desalination by wind energy, which is one of the most common form of renewable energies. The wind energy transform patterns, modeling and experimental studies of various wind energy powered desalination plant, and the prototypes established worldwide are majorly discussed. Moreover, two important technological problems in wind utilization are discussed, and the present or potential countermeasures for the intermittent characteristic and direct utilization of wind energy are presented. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.