Atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis can cause ischaemic nephropathy and arterial hypertension. Renal artery stenosis (RAS) continues to be a problem for clinicians, with no clear consensus on how to investigate and assess the clinical significance of stenotic lesions and manage the findings. RAS caused by fibromuscular dysplasia is probably commoner than previously appreciated, should be actively looked for in younger hypertensive patients and can be managed successfully with angioplasty. Atheromatous RAS is associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular events and increased cardiovascular mortality, and is likely to be seen with increasing frequency. Many patients with RAS may be managed effectively with medical therapy for several years without endovascular stenting, as demonstrated by randomized, prospective trials including the cardiovascular outcomes in Renal Atherosclerotic Lesions (CORAL) trial, the Angioplasty and Stenting for Renal Artery Lesions (ASTRAL) trial. These trials share the limitation of excluding subsets of patients with high-risk clinical presentations, including episodic pulmonary edema and rapidly progressing renal failure and hypertension. Blood pressure control and medication adjustment may become more difficult with declining renal function and may prevent the use of angiotensin receptor blocker and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. The objective of this review is to evaluate the current management of RAS for cardiologists in the context of recent randomized clinical trials. There is now interest in looking more closely at patient selection for intervention, with focus on intervening only in patients with the highest-risk presentations such as flash pulmonary edema, rapidly declining renal function and severe resistant hypertension.