Surface albedo is a critical consideration for energy balance at the land-air interface. It determines the allocation of radiant energy between the earth′s surface and atmosphere. Changes in surface albedo affect the energy balance of land-air system, which could in turn lead to climate change. Land Use/Cover Change (LUCC) is an important element of global climate change. LUCC affects surface albedo, and thus climate change. Surface albedo is controlled by solar elevation angle, land surface nature, soil moisture, weather condition, etc. This paper presents an in-depth review of the driving factors of surface albedo. Conventional observations of surface albedo are point-based, and therefore have limited spatial representation. On the other hand, surface albedo retrieved by Remote Sensing (RS) could have a large spatial representation. However, RS-driven surface albedo needs validation by ground-truth observations. Hence this paper reviews and epitomizes observational and RS-based analyses surface albedo. It also summarizes research progress in surface albedo in relation to global climate. Moreover, this review highlights the strengths, weaknesses and future directions of surfacealbedo/climate-change research. The points documented herein could profoundly augment current understanding about global climate change and related driving factors.