Because of high porosity, diverse functionalities, and easy modification, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have important applications in adsorption. Although there are several possible adsorption mechanisms, hydrogen bonding may be one of the significant means among them. Recently, several studies have been carried out which showed successful adsorption over MOFs through hydrogen bonding and therefore its importance should be open to the scientific community for better understanding, new innovations and potential applications etc. Several types of comparatively inert materials, which do not easily interact with other species, can be removed or separated through hydrogen bonding. The present review outlines recent developments in the study of hydrogen bonding interactions between MOF materials and adsorbates. This analysis will motivate the development of methods and techniques to utilize hydrogen bonding in several important adsorption-based applications of MOFs. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.