Energy, freshwater, and the environment are interrelated features that infuse all human activities. Addressing this nexus in an integrated energy conversion system is a big challenge for the research community. Adsorption desalination system, which is a good alternative to traditional desalination systems, could solve this problem because it uses eco-friendly working fluids and can be powered by renewable energy. Many experimental prototypes for the adsorption desalination cycle were built and tested in the last decades. Also, different adsorbent materials were developed and characterized. Therefore, this paper reviews adsorbent materials with water vapor utilized in experimental adsorption desalination studies, which is considered the first step in constructing an efficient system. After that, the paper comprehensively reviews all previous experimental adsorption desalination studies. It focuses on the design of the experimental test rig, the mass of adsorbent material, and system performance, such as the specific daily water production, coefficient of performance, and specific cooling power. This work also discusses the properties of heat exchangers (i.e., adsorbent beds) employed in adsorption desalination systems.