Abstract: Studies on the thermal performance of counter flow natural draft cooling tower mainly include computational methods for thermal performance design, thermal performance calculation, drag force calculation, investigation of packing characteristics, as well as the influencing factors on the thermal performance of cooling towers. Focusing on these aspects, the present paper gives an overview on various computational models, empirical formulas and numerical codes proposed and developed by experts and scholars at home and abroad. A few defects in domestic research about packing characteristics, code validation, and numerical simulation of cooling tower considering components and facilities inside are discussed, and some new research subjects are also highlighted with the emergence of new cooling tower.