Background: Renal infarction is a rare and usually underdiagnosed entity. Aim: To study the etiology of renal infarction in published series. Material and methods: A systematic review was carried out selecting 28 series that included 1582 patients. Results: The proposed cause was cardiac or aortic embolism in 718 cases (45%), an arterial injury in 253 (16%), prothrombotic factors in 146 (9%) and other causes in 79 (5%). 291 cases were classified as idiopathic (18.4%). Atrial fibrillation was present in 542 of the 718 patients with cardiac or aortic embolism. Conclusions: The main cause of renal infarction is cardiac or aortic embolism and among this group, most cases are due to atrial fibrillation. One out of five cases is labeled as idiopathic.Background: Renal infarction is a rare and usually underdiagnosed entity. Aim: To study the etiology of renal infarction in published series. Material and methods: A systematic review was carried out selecting 28 series that included 1582 patients. Results: The proposed cause was cardiac or aortic embolism in 718 cases (45%), an arterial injury in 253 (16%), prothrombotic factors in 146 (9%) and other causes in 79 (5%). 291 cases were classified as idiopathic (18.4%). Atrial fibrillation was present in 542 of the 718 patients with cardiac or aortic embolism. Conclusions: The main cause of renal infarction is cardiac or aortic embolism and among this group, most cases are due to atrial fibrillation. One out of five cases is labeled as idiopathic.