The growing intensive aquaculture system around the world maintains a high stocking density, wherein it is essential to increase and sustain the optimum dissolved oxygen concentration (DO) through the provision of artificial aeration systems. The selection of an aerator is a crucial aspect of aquaculture operations. The selected aerator must be economically efficient and should be able to fulfill the requirement of oxygen supply in the pond water. The present study provides an extensive literature review on the importance of artificial aeration in aquaculture, the standard method of test for performance evaluation of an aerator, various aeration systems and their mechanisms, method to determine the numbers of aerator requirement, comparative studies of different type of aerators, and economic consideration in selection of aerators. In addition, a thorough analysis has been done to suggest the type of aerator that is economically viable and efficient for different pond volumes based on the performance data reported in the reviews. Therefore, this study may help the end-users (fish farmers) to select the best aerator based on their requirements.