Designing hyetographs is the basis of deducing design flood for small and medium-sized watersheds lacking flow data. It has a significant impact on construction standards of water conservancy facilities and municipal engineering design. Therefore, a large number of studies on design hyetograph has been carried out in China and internationally. In recent years, due to the impact of climate and environmental changes, great floods occur frequently. Mountain floods and waterlogging in urban areas pose a threat to the property and personal safety of mountain people and urban residents, and have caused many disasters. Therefore, higher requirements are put forward for the design of hyetographs. This article systematically summarized the principles and methods for selecting typical hyetographs and the classification of hyetographs, and reviewed the methods of deducing hyetographs in China and abroad, including the Chicago Hyetographs, the Huff Hyetographs, the Triangle Rainfall Hyetographs, and the Pilgrim & Cordery (P&C) Hyetographs—our short-duration design hyetographs in total, as well as the long-duration Soil Conservation Service (SCS) Hyetographs and the same-frequency method. Finally, the problems in designing hyetographs in small and medium-sized watersheds and the prospects for future research are put forward.