With the rapid development of information technologies, the new decade has been witnessing an advancement of massive open online courses (MOOCs)-based learning. However, MOOCs are infamous for the lower engagement and completion rates and very few studies have systematically reviewed student performance, motivation, engagement, and interactions in MOOCs-based learning in order to provide constructive suggestions for researchers and practitioners. Through content analysis, this study firstly identified top 10 cited works and their major concerns and then discussed student performance, motivation, engagement, and interactions, as well as methods to improve the effectiveness of MOOCs-based learning. It also provides constructive suggestions for future design of MOOCs and complements for the missing link in literature. Future research could focus on the measurements of variables in MOOCs-based learning in order to improve the quality of MOOCs and help students achieve success in MOOCs.