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Background Elder abuse is a global public health issue, with a yearly increase in its prevalence. As elder abuse often occurs covertly and is difficult to be detected and identified, effective assessment tools are prerequisites for detecting and stopping elder abuse. Objective To systematically review the studies on elder abuse assessment tools. Methods From January 10 to 24, 2021, we conducted a comprehensive search of 11 databases (PubMed, CHINAL, PsycINFO, EmBase, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CQVIP, Wanfang Data, CNKI, and Taiwan Scholar Database) to identify eligible studies of elder abuse assessment tools published up to December 31, 2020. Literature screening and data extraction were performed by two researchers, separately, and then were cross-checked. Methodological quality was evaluated, an authenticity assessment tool for scale measurement properties. Results A total of 29 studies were included, involving 19 elder abuse assessment tools, 18 of which were questionnaires in English and the other one was a questionnaire in Chinese. According to the evaluation content, these tools could be classified into two types: the risk of elder abuse (7) and elder abuse (12) . In particular, Assessment Tool for Domestic Elder Abuse, the Family Violence Against Older Women, and Family Caregivers' Misbehavior toward Elderlies on Hemodialysis belonging to the elder abuse type could be used to assess the severity of abuse. Conclusion As elder abuse has gradually attracted wide attention, the international community has developed various types of assessment tools targeting different groups, institutions and cultural backgrounds. Researchers should appropriately select assessment tools according to research objectives, participants, and research institutions, and should develop elder abuse assessment tools for Chinese older people in accordance with China's conditions and cultural background.