The availability of energy has been essential for humanity, which increasingly demands more energy resources to cover its consumption and well-being. Due to the rapid depletion of fossil fuels and climate change, use of alternative energy sources such as non-conventional renewable energy sources is fundamental. Within non-conventional renewable energy sources, small-scale hydroelectric power is an excellent option in the generation of clean energy. Its development has a long useful life with more than 100 years and still with possibilities for new designs and technological adaptations. Among these new designs are the gravitational water vortex hydraulic turbines (GWVHTs). A GWVHT is a run-of-river (ROR) hydropower system that harnesses the kinetic and potential energy of an induced vortex. Its main advantage is the ability to generate energy in low ranges of head and flow. The GWVHT is a new turbine with an efficiency between 17 and 85%, which still needs more research to optimize the geometry of the basin, inlet channel, and runner. This work presents a comprehensive analysis of various aspects of GWVHT such as modeling, optimum sizing, performance, and challenges to establish a starting point for further research. Until now, the studies have proved that the conical basins are better than the cylindrical basins, but they do not identify the dimensions of the geometry. With respect to the runner, the shape or number of blades has been varied, but the investigations show contradictory results.