Perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND) include postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) and postoperative delirium (POD), which are currently assessed mostly based on scales, without golden standards. This review summarizes traditional paper-pencil assessment scales and recent computer-based assessment scales, in order to provide evidence for choosing appropriate scales in clinical and scientific research practice. At present, traditional paper-pencil assessment scales are still widely used, while computer-based assessment methods have been more widely accepted. It is of importance to choose several scales for different patient population, so as to achieve high specificity and sensitivity.