Desiccant driven dehumidification for maintaining the proper humidity levels and atmospheric water capture with minimum energy penalty are important aspects in heat pumps, refrigeration, gas and liquid purifications, gas sensing, and clean water production for improved human health and comfort. Water adsorption by using nanoporous materials has emerged as av iable alternative to energy-intensive industrial processes,t hus understanding the significance of their porosity,h igh surface areas, vast pore volumes, chemical and structural features relative to the water adsorption is quite important. In this review article, important features of nanoporousm aterials are presented, including zeolites, porouscarbons, as well as crystalline and amorphous porous organicp olymers (POPs) to define the interactions between the water molecules and the polar/non-polar functional groups on the surface of thesen anoporous materials. In particular,f ocus is placed on the recent developments in POPs in the contexto fw ater capture as ar esult of their remarkable stability towards water and wider ange of availables ynthetic routes and buildingb locks for their synthesis. We also highlighted recenta pproaches to increase the water sorption capacity of POPs by modifyingt heir structure, morphology,p orosity,a nd chemical functionality while emphasizing their promisingf uture in this emerging area.