Realistic modeling of a TPV system is a very demanding task. For a rough estimation of system limits many of assumptions simplify the complexity of a thermophotovoltaic converter. It’s obvious that real systems can not be described by this way. An alternative approach that can deal with all these complexities like arbitrary geometries, participating media, temperature distributions etc. is the Monte Carlo method (MCM). This statistical method simulates radiative energy transfer by tracking the histories of a number of photons beginning with the emission by a radiating surface and ending with absorption on a surface or in a medium. All interactions in this way are considered. The disadvantage of large computation time compared to other methods is not longer a weakness with the speed of todays computers. This article points out different ways for realistic TPV system simulation focusing on statistical methods. © 2003 American Institute of Physics