The lack of access to clean water remains a severe issue all over the world. Coupling photocatalysis with the membrane separation process, which is known as a photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR), is promising for water treatment. PMR has developed rapidly during the last few years, and this paper presents an overview of the progress in the configuration and operational parameters of PMRs. Two main configurations of PMRs (PMRs with immobilized photocatalyst; PMRs with suspended photocatalyst) are comprehensively described and characterized. Various influencing factors on the performance of PMRs, including photocatalyst, light source, water quality, aeration and membrane, are detailed. Moreover, a discussion on the current problems and development prospects of PMRs for practical application are presented.