A review of various publications on network design parameters for monitoring water quality in rivers, disclosed in different ways from 1970 until 2007 is presented. The review is conducted separately in different sections that point out the major work and progress regarding the definition of the objectives of the monitoring network, the choice of variables to monitor, the location of stations, and the estimation of the sampling frequency. General conclusions are presented for the sections considered, noticing that the wide variety of conditions and the quality of the available information for the design, is the leading cause for the non-existence of a general methodology for designing networks for monitoring water quality parameters in rivers.