Purpose:The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review of the performance measurement in maintenance. The authors aim to discuss the background and development of the performance measurement for maintenance, besides defining the concept of performance measures for maintenance and the frameworks developed.Design/methodology/approach:A detailed and extensive literature search and study was undertaken by the authors on the concept and definition of performance measurement, performance indicators, maintenance performance indicators and various performance frameworks. The history and theory of performance measurement over different phases of business and technological developments have been critically examined and analysed in this review paper. Findings:This paper reviews and presents the different performance indicators (PIs) and performance measurement (PM) frameworks like; balanced scorecard, performance prism, performance pyramid and performance matrix etc, and identifies their characteristics and shortcomings. After considering related issues and challenges, frameworks and approaches for the maintenance performance measurement (MPM) are also presented, where the emerging techniques like; e-maintenance have also been discussed amongst others. More and more industries are applying the balanced and integrated MPM frameworks for their competitive survivability and sustainability.Practical implications:The concept, issues and approaches considered for the MPM frameworks can be adapted by the practicing managers, while trying to define and develop an MPM framework for the operation and maintenance activities. The considerations of the advantages and limitations of different frameworks can provide insights to the managers for implementation. Originality/value:Some literature reviews on MPM and MPM frameworks are available today. This paper makes an attempt to provide a detailed and relevant literature review, besides adding value in this new and emerging area.