Joint book reading has been regarded as an important family activity that facilitates language and literacy development in children. This paper reviews previous research on joint book reading in foreign countries and Taiwan and provides suggestions for future research. Eighteen journal articles published from 2000 to 2011 were included for the review. Three main findings of these studies were obtained (a) a child’s reading attitude was related to the reading habits, educational levels and occupations of his/her parents, (b) individual differences in parent-child interaction patterns during joint book reading were evident and these patterns varied across the age of the children, and (c) joint book reading practices at home facilitated children’s language ability. Studies with experimental and longitudinal design were recommended for future research. Issues such as effects of joint book reading experiences and intervention programs on children’s language and reading development, parental beliefs in shared book reading and joint book reading practices across families with different socio-cultural backgrounds were also suggested to be examined in the future.