Abstract: Mesh‑related visceral complications caused by mesh erosion after tension‑free inguinal hernia repair are one kind of rare long‑term complications, but they are easily neglected. Interval time from initial hernia repair to mesh‑related visceral complications by preperitoneal and laparoscopic repair is short. Rutkow and transabdominal preperitoneal repair have the highest reported rate. Lichtenstein has the longest interval time and the lowest reported rate. The most frequently eroded organs are sigmoid colon, bladder and small intestine. The common clinical manifestations of sigmoid colon erosion are hematochezia, abdominal wall fistula and colitis, hematuria and recurrent urinary tract infection in bladder erosion cases, intestinal obstruction and abdominal wall fistula in intestinal erosion case, sigmoid‑bladder fistula and intestinal‑bladder fistula in multiple organ erosion cases. Resection or repair of corresponding organs with mesh removal have good efficacies in most patients. The authors summarize and analyze researches on mesh‑related visceral complications after tension‑free inguinal hernia repair from 1994 to 2021, review their advances, in order to raise awareness of such complications in clinicians.