MotivationChild streetism, a concept that describes the desperate situations of children working, living or surviving on the street, is a complex phenomenon and one of the challenges posed by urban poverty worldwide.PurposeThe rising number of studies on street children in Nigerian urban centres over the last 10 years offers evidence to formulate new policies to address this worldwide problem. This article summarizes the determinants of child streetism, the risks associated with it (violence, street gangsterism, drugs and substance use) and the intervention policies and programmes for street children in Nigeria.Methods and approachThe article is based on a textual narrative synthesis analysis of the relevant literature published between 2012 and 2023.FindingsThe analysis of the literature shows that street children are involved in harmful and risky behaviours and are trapped in a cycle of abuse and poverty. Interventions to help street children are generally hampered by a lack of understanding of the causes, impacts, situations, and general characteristics. The literature suggests that the most successful interventions typically capitalize on people's strengths, incorporate elements of participation, self‐help, and mutual support, and take the least stigmatizing approach.Policy implicationsChild streetism is an expression of a complicated web of determinants that require structural solutions. Any policy addressing the problem of child streetism must consider the phenomenon as a product of several complex and interrelated factors. Of these, uncontrolled urbanization, poor urban planning and management, and poverty are the most obvious.