Acute kidney injury has particular characteristics in oncologic patients, since they are usually exposed to diverse symptoms, physiologic alterations, paraneoplastic syndromes, and drugs which predispose them to this condition. A comprehensive review of this topic was performed, carrying out a detailed analysis of the literature. Acute kidney injury is frequently found in oncologic patients and it adds significant morbidity and mortality to this population. It is crucial to understand the underlying pathophysiologic mechanism of acute kidney injury in oncologic patients in order to try to avoid it or achieve their correct diagnosis and adequate treatment.