Owing to the eye‐catching pros of high energy and environmental performances, numerous ground‐source heat pump (GSHP) systems have been employed in domestic and industrial buildings throughout the world. One of the proved renewable energy technologies is the GSHPs which is able to fulfill the gap between cooling and heating. The main contribution of this article is to present a fully description and critical review of the GSHP systems along with their current developments. At first, the energy efficiency and working standard of a heat pump are introduced. Furthermore, an expansive description of the GSHPs and its advances, and a fully explanation of the ground‐couplet (GCHP) heat pumps, ground‐water (GWHP), and surface water (SWHP) are provided. The mainly representative ground thermal response examination approaches and simulation for the vertical ground heat exchangers presently existing are reviewed counting the heat transfer progressions inside and outside the holes. Similarly, various info regarding a different GWHP by a heat exchanger with different structures, and the opportunity to gain the enhanced energy efficiency with joint cooling and heating using GCHP are explained. The numerous hybrid GCHP systems for heating or cooling‐dominated constructions are appropriately illustrated. It can be deduced that the GSHP technology can be employed both in hot and cold weather areas and the potential of energy saving is noteworthy. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 37: 1241–1265, 2018