cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI) is one of the major complications after cardiac surgery, which has a negative impact on both short-term and long-term survival. Previously, heart-related acute kidney injury was primarily associated with hypotension, and renal hypoperfusion was thought to be the primary cause of decreased renal blood flow (RBF) and glomerular filtration rate (GFR), leading to AKI; However, recent studies have found that venous congestion is very common in cardiac patients, so the role of venous congestion in renal physiology and pathophysiology has been paid more and more attention. Some studies have shown that venous congestion in patients with heart disease is associated with renal function injury and mortality. Central venous pressure (CVP) is used as a quantitative indicator of venous congestion, and high CVP is considered to be an independent risk factor for cardiac surgery-related acute kidney injury. The following review will discuss the research progress of venous congestion and cardiac surgery-related acute kidney injury.