Advances in wireless sensor network (WSN) technology has provided the availability of small and low-cost sensor nodes with capability of sensing various types of physical and environmental conditions, data processing, and wireless communication. Variety of sensing capabilities results in profusion of application areas. However, the characteristics of wireless sensor networks require more effective methods for data forwarding and processing.

In WSN, the sensor nodes have a limited transmission range, and their processing and storage capabilities as well as their energy resources are also limited. Routing protocols for wireless sensor networks are responsible for maintaining the routes in the network and have to ensure reliable multi-hop communication under these conditions. In this paper, we give a survey of routing protocols for Wireless Sensor Network and compare their strengths and limitations.