Abstract Wind energy has played an increasingly vital role in renewable power generation, driving the need for more cost-effective wind energy solutions. Health monitoring of turbines could provide a variety of economic and other benefits to aid in wind growth. A number of commercial and research health monitoring systems have been implemented for wind turbines. This paper surveys these systems, providing an analysis of the current state of turbine health monitoring and the challenges associated with monitoring each of the major turbine components. This paper also contextualizes the survey with the various potential benefits of health monitoring for turbines.