A wide variety of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals have been frequently found in the aquatic environment around the world. Among those, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antibiotics, anti-hypertensives, and anti-depressants are the pharmaceuticals that are most frequently detected in aquatic systems. According to many research, the indirect exposure of living organisms to pharmaceuticals through aquatic systems could cause severe ecological and toxicological effects. Various conventional treatments, such as physical, chemical, and biological treatments, have been investigated for the removal of pharmaceuticals from water. However, the efficiency of these processes is often low, indicating the necessity of developing new and more modern ones. The use of polymeric composite materials in processes such as adsorption and photocatalysis has lately attracted significant attention due to their unique features and capacity to degrade and remove a variety of organic contaminants, including pharmaceuticals. Therefore, this review article summarizes the occurrence of commonly used pharmaceuticals in water reservoirs and their removal by adsorption and photodegradation using eco-friendly polymer-based composites, such as alginate-based, chitosan-based, cellulose-based, gelatin-based, and lignin-based composites. Along this line, the impact of adsorbent/photocatalyst amount, pH, pharmaceutical concentration, removal efficiency, etc. is also briefly discussed.