A zero-energy building, also known as a positive energy building, is a building with zero net energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is roughly equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site. Large numbers of long-term advantages are there in moving towards ZEBs, such as lower environmental impacts, better resiliency to power outages, lower operating and maintenance costs and natural disasters and improved energy security. Since such buildings are now the center of attraction, various researches are going on this area by the Engineers and Architects. This paper is a detailed review on the zero energy building (ZEB) along with the possible developments in the future for the benefit of the building designers. © 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.