Capturing an accurate view of IP geolocation is of great interest to the networking research community as it has many uses ranging from network measuring and mapping to analyzing the network’s infrastructure. However, the scale of today’s Internet, coupled with the rapid development of Internet applications, makes it very challenging to acquire a complete and accurate snapshot of the IP geolocation technology. To the best of our knowledge, there is no systematic survey of the relevant research in this field. To fill this gap, this study systematically summarizes the research of client-independent IP geolocation, in which the clients do not participate in the geolocation process. This study aims to examine the major research studies that have been conducted on topics related to IP geolocation in the last 22 years since the first IP-based geolocation technology was proposed. To this end, these prior studies are classified according to the measurement method, that is, active, passive, and hybrid. The main techniques for each category are described, identifying their significant advantages and limitations. Also, the primary experience and lessons learned from these past efforts are presented. After the process, the latest progress in IP geolocation both in academia and industry is shown. Finally, the survey and present promising directions in the future are concluded, hoping to promote the development of IP geolocation.