Choledocholithiasis is a common disease in biliary system and can cause obstructive suppurative cholangitis, acute pancreatitis and other severe complications. Thus it is very important to remove bile duct stones. Currently the first-line treatment for choledocholithiasis is endoscopic lithotomy. For the patients with failed endoscopic lithotomy, extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is a new alternative. Therapeutic effect of ESWL on choledocholithiasis is quite good, with the stone clearence rate being 73%-93% according to many studies. The efficacy of ESWL is related to many factors such as placement of nasal bile duct, shock wave frequence, and anesthesia method. ESWL is more effective when combined with other endoscopic techniques. Although ESWL is effective in the treatment of choledocholithiasis and the related application is mature, there are still complications, including postoperative biliary colic, pancreatitis and biliary obstruction. In this study, we reviewed the research advances of ESWL in the treatment of choledocholithiasis in recent years.