Herein, the state-of-the-art in water desalination using two-dimensional-based membranes is discussed with a special focus on membranes containing graphene. Despite a certain discrepancy between molecular modeling and experimental studies that exists, the earliest implementations of graphene-based membranes for water desalination show exceptional performances in terms of salt rejection and transmembrane flux. Likewise, two-dimensional materials beyond graphene are also promising candidates as ultrathin membranes for advanced branches of membrane contactors.