Depending on their management, riparian buffer strips have been shown to benefit water quality, biodiversity and mitigate flood risk. Given the multifunctional nature of riparian buffer strips, this review explores the need to identify the mechanisms and conflicts by which they operate in order to promote targeted management of explicit environmental pressures. The review considers the effects of nutrient loadings, soil saturation, vegetation and buffer management on their performance and recommends the integration of various measures at catchment scales to ensure riparian buffers can confer greatest benefit.