Purpose: This paper presents a review of empirical research on educational leadership during times of crises in K-12 schools. This review aimed to map the recent literature and identify key characteristics of educational leadership during crises to understand how this type of leadership is different from current understandings. Design/methodology/approach: A scoping review of empirical research from 2010 to 2020 on how school leaders have managed and responded to crises in K-12 was completed. The empirical research was analysed and synthesised by using the preview, question, read and summarise (PQRS) system. Findings: The findings draw attention to the fact that the notion of crisis leadership has been a neglected aspect of educational leadership research. Additionally, the review reveals six emerging characteristics which depict how school leadership has been enacted during different types of crisis across a range of contexts and crisis phases. Originality/value: The findings add to current practical understandings of educational leadership by illustrating the complexity and multi-layered nature of leading during times of crisis. Furthermore, these findings contribute to the field by identifying how leading during a crisis is different from current understandings. Lastly, they highlight the need to develop theories and models that account for how leadership is used to deal with the unpredictable nature of crises that schools across the globe face today and into the future.