Abstract: Kidney transplantation is more efficacious compared with other organ transplantations. Nevertheless, postoperative complications, such as renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), severely affect the survival rate and quality of life of recipients. How to mitigate the IRI of renal allografts has become one of the key topics in the field of kidney transplantation. At present, ischemic preconditioning enables renal allografts to adapt to ischemia, which is one of the effective methods to prevent the progression of IRI. However, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. In this article, the application of ischemic preconditioning in IRI, the regulation mechanism of ischemic preconditioning on the IRI of renal allografts at the cellular level and intracellular signaling pathway, and clinical application value and prospect of ischemic preconditioning were reviewed, aiming to provide reference for alleviating the IRI of renal allografts, enhancing the survival rate of the recipients and renal allografts and improving the quality of life of recipients.