In the past 30 years, tubular daylight guide systems (TDGSs) have become one of the most popular ways to transport outdoor natural light into the inner space in building design. However, tubular daylight guide systems are not widely used because of the lack of methods to evaluate methods on the suitability of the TDGSs. This study therefore summarizes the daylight performance metrics of TDGSs and presents the estimation methods in terms of field measurements, simulation and empirical formulae. This study focuses on the daylight performance and potential energy savings of TDGSs. Moreover, this study will be helpful for building designers to build healthy, comfortable and energy-saving indoor environment.