Abstract Geothermal energy with abundance and large quantity can partially cover building heating/cooling loads and promote the carbon-neutrality transitions. Shallow geothermal ventilation (SGV) system, with a little initial investment cost, is one of promising technologies to partly replace the conventional air-conditioning system for air pre-cooling/pre-heating. This paper reviews applications of SGV system for improving thermal performance over latest two decades, which mainly includes the reclassification of SGV system, coupling with other advanced energy-saving technologies, application potentials for building cooling/heating under various weather conditions. Heat transfer mechanism and mathematical modelling techniques have been reviewed, together with in-depth analysis on current research trends, existing limitations, and recommendations of SGV system. Phase change materials, with considerable latent energy density, can stabilize the thermal performance with high reliability. The review identifies that optimization designs and advanced approaches need to be investigated to address the existing urgent issues of SGV system (e.g., large land occupation, difficulty in centralized collection of condensate water timely for horizontal buried pipe, bacteria growth, polluted supply air, and high construction cost for vertical buried pipe). A plenty of studies show that the SGV system could greatly expand the application scope and improve system energy efficiency by combining with other energy-saving technologies. This paper will provide some guidelines for the scientific researchers and engineers to keep track on recent advancements and research trends of SGV system for the building thermal performance enhancement and pave path for future research works.