The cognitive dimension of pain assessment would be a difficult part from the assessment of all dimensions of pain experience. Especially for assessing pain beliefs and pain attitudes, both of these concepts are having abstract characteristics and easy to get confused. This review article tried to analyze the relations between pain beliefs and pain attitudes through cross comparison of the definitions, developing process of concept, natures of concept, functions, and operating patterns. Further, the most common use instruments for assessing pain beliefs and pain attitudes would be described detailedly, in order to provide the clinical guidelines for the health providers to choose appropriate instrument under different clinical situations and various aims of assessment. The ultimate aims for this article were to puzzle the real picture of pain beliefs and pain attitudes and to be the reference for developing strategies of pain management in the future.