Purpose Iran’s metropolitan areas are growing rapidly, and, among them, Shiraz has experienced a high rate of urban sprawl in recent decades. On the other hand, besides wasting the resources, urban sprawl does not follow the principles of sustainable urban development and its consideration would help to determine and employ the required type of sustainable urban development approach. The purpose of this paper is to assess urban sprawl in Shiraz. Design/methodology/approach First, the indicators and their weights for Shiraz’s sprawl assessment are identified through Delphi and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) methods. In addition, the degree of urban sprawl is assessed using the preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE). Findings The Delphi method produced the four criteria of “land use,” “urban fabric,” “social characteristics,” and “accessibility,” and “urban fabric” was the most important criterion per the AHP. Finally, the results of the PROMETHEE analysis indicated a high amount of urban sprawl in most of Shiraz’s municipal zones. Practical implications Therefore, due to the high degree of urban sprawl in Shiraz and its geographical limitations for horizontal development, a study on sustainable approaches to urban development in Shiraz, including Smart Growth and sustainable urban regeneration, seems mandatory for this city. However, this study indicates the requirement for more studies on urban sprawl in major cities of Iran, but by comparison of these findings with other relevant studies, it is inferred that using sustainable urban development approaches seems crucial for the majority of the cities in this country. Finally guidelines on how to impede urban sprawl and encourage sustainable urban development in Shiraz and Iranian cities as well as certain implications in this regard are discussed. Originality/value The findings of this study are expected to contribute valuable information for policy makers in terms of urban planning and the development of the cities in Iran.