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Renewable energy is becoming increasingly popular in the development of low-carbon societies. Radiative sky cooling (RSC) technology utilizes long waves in the atmospheric window to radiate heat into outer space; it promises a good cooling effect and wide applicability. This paper reviews RSC technology in terms of its background, materials, heat transfer and influences, and applications in buildings. High-performance radiative cooling materials have been proposed to realize RSC during both the day and night. Using these materials, sky radiative coolers and cooling systems have been fabricated for different scenarios. Radiative and non-radiative heat transfer and cooling performances can be calculated or measured using the radiation law. The correlations between the sky effective radiative temperature and effective emissivity are summarized. Environment conditions affect the RSC performance, and the influences are systematically analyzed. Owing to its advantages of cleanliness, accessibility, and extensive resources, RSC technology can be applied to building envelopes and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, to develop low-carbon and zero-energy buildings. Passive and active applications are also discussed. Finally, challenges of applying RSC technology to building systems are briefly discussed. This review should help promote the practice and implementation of RSC technology. • Spectrally selective radiative cooling materials and cooler forms are reviewed. • Heat-transfer parameters, performances and influences of RSC are summarized and analyzed. • Applications of RSC in building envelopes and HVAC systems are presented. • Challenges on RSC applied to buildings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]