Renal cell carcinoma（RCC） is one of most common urinary malignant tumors in China. Surgery is the first selection for the early stage RCC，whereas drug therapy is preferred for the advanced RCC. As VEGF and mTOR inhibitors are approved for the treatment of advanced RCC，the clinical application of targeted drugs improves patients’ prognosis. However，the resistance to VEGF and mTOR targeted therapies is becoming increasingly prominent. In recent decades，immunotherapy，especially programmed cell death-1（PD-1）/programmed cell death-ligand 1（PD-L1） inhibitors and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4（CTLA-4） inhibitors，has been rapidly developing. These novel checkpoint inhibitors perform well in many clinical trials and improve treatment outcome. This article summarizes the latest data in the development of checkpoint inhibitors for patients with advanced kidney cancer.