<p>Surface water quality is threatened by a variety of variables including natural and human factors. Although extensive studies have been conducted to identify the driving factors of surface water quality, an integrated synthesis that compares previous findings across different study areas, water quality parameters, driving factors, spatial scales, and quantitative analysis methods is still lacking. In this review, we synthesize 229 recent articles on driving factors of surface water quality, providing a comprehensive analysis of surface water quality research across multiple dimensions. The synthesis reveals several notable trends in current research on surface water quality. The reviewed studies reveal that previous research has mainly focused on the watershed, lake, reservoir, sea, and river network, among which the watershed occurred frequently in previous studies as a relatively closed system. Furthermore, the major driving factors affecting surface water quality include land use types, land use pattern, topography, soil, rainfall, climate change, hydrological connectivity, policies and management measures, wildfire, and human activities. In addition, numerous quantitative analysis methods are employed to explore the effects of these driving factors and their interrelationships. This study also highlights the future prospects of using a tired monitoring framework and sediment core analysis to provide real-time, high resolution, and historic data. More attention should be paid to the significant effects of cascading events and interactions among the driving factors. This review provides a broader understanding of the mechanisms controlling surface water quality and supports decision-makers in developing effective measures to maintain surface water quality.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>