Grounded in the strength of social norms and tolerance for normative deviations, cultures exhibit differences in tightness and looseness. Diverging from prior cultural dimensions rooted in the perspective of intrinsic values, cultural tightness-looseness, introduced from an external social norm perspective, has emerged as a significant and burgeoning area of research in cultural studies in recent years. The differences in cultural tightness-looseness are manifested in both normative and institutional practices, fundamentally guiding and shaping the way of individual socialization, and affecting individuals’ beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, which offers novel insights for businesses to comprehend and analyze consumer behavior. This paper systematically reviews the relevant research on cultural tightness-looseness within the domain of consumer behavior. It commences by deconstructing the concept and connotation of cultural tightness-looseness, as well as its similarities to and differences from other cultural variables. Then, it summarizes the measurement and manipulation methods of cultural tightness-looseness, and further analyzes the consumer reactions caused by normative strength shaping consumer behavior and deviant behavior, as well as the underlying psychological mechanisms driving these phenomena. Finally, it systematically identifies the limitations of existing research on cultural tightness-looseness in the field of consumer behavior and proposes future research directions.