Groundnut is cultivated in most of the states of India due to favorable agro-climatic conditions and higher consumer demand. Harvesting is one of the major unit operations in groundnut cultivation because it accounts for a higher share of cultivation cost. Groundnut yields are higher for early planting and timely harvesting, and decline with delay in planting and harvesting operation. The yield loss generally ranges from 16–25% and 30–40% when harvested 10 days before and after physiological maturity, respectively. Also, pod losses are highest during harvesting compared to other operations and the cost of harvesting alone accounted for 23% of the cultivation cost. Therefore, selection of a right method of harvesting is important in groundnut cultivation to meet timeliness and cost effectiveness. In developing countries, groundnut crops are being harvested mostly by manual pulling and digging by spade, khurpi etc. and by animal-drawn diggers. While in developed countries digging is usually done by self-propelled diggers, tractor operated diggers and combine harvesters. Manual harvesting is labor intensive, time consuming, expensive and involves drudgery and can cause delay in groundnut harvesting. So a suitable mechanical harvesting system is the only solution to overcome the above mentioned problems. This article reviews different groundnut harvesting methods, development and evaluation of different groundnut diggers, losses associated with groundnut harvesting and cost economics of harvesting methods.