microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in a number of biological processes, including cell differentiation, apoptosis, tumorigenesis, and metastasis. A group of miRNAs including miR-210, miR-32, and miR-17-92 cluster are up-regulated in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tissues, and others including miR-141 and miR-200c are down-regulated. The mechanisms responsible for the aberrant expression might be related to cellular microenviroments and loss of chromosome. Up-regulated miR-155 together with down-regulated miR-141 can be used for discriminating RCC from non-malignant renal tissues. miR-203 and miR-424 are over-expressed in clear cell RCC compared to papillary RCC. Over-expression of miR-32 is associated with poor outcome of ccRCC patients. miR-21 and miR-106b are involved in the process of RCC invasion and metastasis. It is of great clinical significance to understand the mechanism miRNA regulation and the roles of miRNAs in molecular typing, early diagnosis and prognosis prediction.