Brain is the controlling center of our body. With the advent of time, newer and newer brain diseases are being discovered. Thus, because of the variability of brain diseases, existing diagnosis or detection systems are becoming challenging and are still an open problem for research. Detection of brain diseases at an early stage can make a huge difference in attempting to cure it. In recent years, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is surging through all spheres of science, and no doubt, it is revolutionizing the field of neurology. Application of AI in medical science has made brain disease prediction and detection more accurate and precise. In this study, we present a review on recent machine learning and deep learning approaches in detecting four brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), brain tumor, epilepsy, and Parkinson's disease. 147 recent articles on four brain diseases are reviewed considering diverse machine learning and deep learning approaches, modalities, datasets etc. Twenty-two datasets are discussed which are used most frequently in the reviewed articles as a primary source of brain disease data. Moreover, a brief overview of different feature extraction techniques that are used in diagnosing brain diseases is provided. Finally, key findings from the reviewed articles are summarized and a number of major issues related to machine learning/deep learning-based brain disease diagnostic approaches are discussed. Through this study, we aim at finding the most accurate technique for detecting different brain diseases which can be employed for future betterment. INDEX TERMS Alzheimer's disease, brain tumor, deep learning, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, machine learning NOMENCLATURE The most commonly used abbreviations in this survey are summarized in Table 1.