The metastasis of tumors to the stomach is rare, which underlies the clinical problems regarding their diagnosis and treatment. The present review summarizes the current knowledge regarding the clinicopathological characteristics, therapeutic strategies and outcomes for metastatic tumors in the stomach. The primary malignancies of the metastatic tumors in the stomach were most often breast cancers (27.9 %), followed by lung cancer (23.8 %), esophageal cancer (19.1 %), renal cell carcinoma (RCC; 7.6 %) and malignant melanoma (7.0 %). In cases of breast cancer and RCC as the primary malignancy, the median interval between the treatment of the primary tumor and diagnosis of the metastatic tumor in the stomach (IPM) was 50-78 and 75.6 months, respectively, highlighting the fact that the metastatic spread to the stomach may occur many years after the initial treatment of the cancer. In nine patients with metastatic gastric tumors arising from ovarian cancer, an endoscopic examination revealed submucosal tumors in six patients (66.7 %), with a median IPM of 30 months. Appropriate systemic treatment for these tumors is the preferred therapeutic strategy. Although solitary metachronous gastric metastasis several years after treatment of the primary tumor is an exceptionally rare event, surgical resection of metastatic gastric tumors may be recommended to control hemorrhaging or for selected tumors.