Recently, underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) have emerged as a promising networking technique for various underwater applications. An energy efficient routing protocol plays a vital role in data transmission and practical applications. However, due to the specific characteristics of UWSNs, such as dynamic structure, narrow bandwidth, rapid energy consumption, and high latency, it is difficult to build routing protocols for UWSNs. In this article we focus on surveying existing routing protocols in UWSNs. First, we classify existing routing protocols into two categories based on a route decision maker. Then the performance of existing routing protocols is compared in detail. Furthermore, future research issues of routing protocols in UWSNs are carefully analyzed.