Integrated water resources management and ecosystem-based restoration plans require accurate and reliable measurements and appropriate easy-to-use instrumentational tools for both velocity and discharge of water bodies. In addition, the ecological status of these aquatic systems (coastal, lake and fluvial ecosystem) can be assessed as water velocity and discharge play a very important role on water quality. Image-based velocimetry methods can be considered as an environmental technology because of their non-contact character. The image-based velocimetry methods are low cost and innovative techniques used to estimate the surface velocity of water resources. The main concept is very simple by using algorithms to track the movement of surface particles that are flowing on the surface of the water based on continuous frames capturing the water surface. This study reviewed scientific publications published online that studied specific image-based methods that calculate the velocity and discharge of water bodies. The specific analysis concentrated on publications until the end of 2018. The keywords “water”, “PIV river”, “PTV river”, “LSPIV”, “STIV”, “LSPTV” were used in several search engines. More than 400 publication were reviewed in order to conduct an analysis based on their keywords. The keywords were grouped in three major categories based on similarity/relativity of the keywords: a) methods, b) LSPIV system and c) scientific field. These major categories were also divided in sub-categories. The first category “methods” had two subcategories: i) imaged-based and ii) traditional. The second category “LSPIV system” was separated into four sub-categories, specifically into: i) tools, ii) orthorectification, iii) tracers and iv) procedures. Finally, the keywords of the “scientific field” had six sub-categories: i) water resources, ii) geomorphology, iii) ecohydrology and hydrobiology, iv) engineering and human constructions, v) remote sensing and vi) modelling. Scientific gaps regarding image-based methods on measuring parameters of water bodies are identified based on this analysis. This allowed to present suggestions on future research direction based on these methodologies and future possibilities to enhance integrated water resources management.