Abstract In aerosol science today light scattering simulations are regarded as an indispensable tool to develop new particle characterization techniques or in solving inverse light scattering problems. Light scattering theories and related computational methods have evolved rapidly during the past decade such that scattering computations for wavelength sized nonspherical scatterers can be easily performed. This significant progress has resulted from rapid advances in computational algorithms developed in this field and from improved computer hardware. In this paper a review of the recent progress of light scattering theories and available computational programs is presented. We will focus on exact theories and will not cover approximate methods such as geometrical optics. Short outlines of the various theories are given alongside with informations on their capabilities and restrictions.