Fish production in ponds is the most dominant production strategy followed globally, especially in freshwater inland aquaculture. Various species of carp, tilapia, and catfish are commonly produced in pond aquaculture systems with production levels varying from subsistence farming level to large-scale commercial farms. As intensity of production increases, production in freshwater ponds is limited by several factors. This review highlights some of the most important limiting factors influencing freshwater pond aquaculture. Productivity in ponds is largely limited by the carrying capacity of ponds, availability of quality diets, animals, and capacity of the pond to process waste products. Specific limiting factors reviewed here include water quality parameters, geoclimatic conditions, fish physiology, diseases, resource availability, regulations and policy, type of production system used, and marketing bottlenecks (Figure 1). Technological innovations and modifications of the traditional earthen pond have been researched and adopted in efforts to increase the carrying capacity of freshwater ponds. Examples of these include improved pond aeration, partitioned pond systems, bacterial augmentation, and pond lining. Although high-tech aquaculture production systems, such as recirculatory aquaculture systems, are gaining greater attention in modern aquaculture, pond culture will likely remain the most widely used form of aquaculture production globally for the foreseeable future. Understanding the critical factors impacting these pond systems is absolutely necessary for the successful and sustainable expansion of the aquaculture industry.