Open water systems with shallow depth and small surface area have been shown to have the potential to emit high concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG), therefore urban lakes and ponds can also be significant contributors of global GHG emissions. Waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) are essentially open water systems with characteristics of low energy consumption, natural biochemical degradations, and greater buffering capacity of toxic harmful substances, which have been widely applied across the world for wastewater treatment. GHG emissions from WSPs also strongly depend on the physical and chemical properties of pond itself, external environment, and operating conditions and show high spatial and temporal variability, which is also expected that pond systems are potential hotspot of GHGs due to their high and regular organic loading and varies physical characteristics. However, compared with the large number of studies on GHG emission from other water systems, there are only few studies on this area in WSPs, and lack of comprehensive review on comparing GHG emission from these similar water systems. The main objective of this study is to conduct an extensive literature review comparing GHG emissions from WSPs and other urban water systems, especially lakes and ponds as they have similar physical characteristics with WSPs.