Environmental pollution specifically water pollution is alarming both in the developed and developing
countries. Heavy metal contamination of water resources is a critical issue which adversely affects
humans, plants and animals. Phytoremediation is a cost-effective remediation technology which able
to treat heavy metal polluted sites. This environmental friendly method has been successfully implemented
in constructed wetland (CWs) which is able to restore the aquatic biosystem naturally. Nowadays,
many aquatic plant species are being investigated to determine their potential and effectiveness for phytoremediation
application, especially high growth rate plants i.e. macrophytes. Based on the findings,
phytofiltration (rhizofiltration) is the sole method which defined as heavy metals removal from water
by aquatic plants. Due to specific morphology and higher growth rate, free-floating plants were more
efficient to uptake heavy metals in comparison with submerged and emergent plants. In this review, the
potential of wide range of aquatic plant species with main focus on four well known species (hyperaccumulators):
Pistia stratiotes, Eicchornia spp., Lemna spp. and Salvinia spp. was investigated. Moreover,
we discussed about the history, methods and future prospects in phytoremediation of heavy metals by
aquatic plants comprehensively.