Weight change in the postpartum period is a dominant concern of new mothers recently. Postpartum weight retention has important public health implication as well, because retention of gestational weight can be a significant contributor to long-term obesity and associated health risks. This study was designed to collect the latest papers and find more effective approach for postpartum obesity. Methods We searched 81 papers in English from PubMed and selected 41 in favor of our study. In addition to that, we searched 11 papers in Korean and 2 papers in Chinese. Results are as follows. Results and Conclusions These papers show that many different factors were related with postpartum weight retention. This study suggests that moderate weight gain during pregnancy is important to prevent postpartum obesity. Adequate caloric restriction and exercise are needed to prevent from postpartum weight retention. In addition, husbands, some relatives and friends are primary sources for postpartum female to lose and keep up weight. The effect of weight loss associated with lactation significantly differs from paper to paper. There are not many treatments for postpartum weight retention. So, more effective treatments using Korean traditional medicine must be improved even from now on. This study can offer many ideas to treat postpartum weight retention.