Development banks, which play a vital role in the economic development of countries, are the transmission agents of the government's economic policy to their sectors and distribute financial sources to economics sectors with efficient planning, whereas they can outmaneuver the success of other banks. This article wants to identify and explain the factors (criteria, sub-criteria) affecting the success of development banks in Iran and then ranking them. Furthermore, it addresses to some challenges which development banks facing with them. This ranking is done with Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) that is included in multi-criteria decision-making. First by using the studies and the library resources the primarily model is designed, and then the ultimate model is extracted from interviews with university professors and experts in banking. In the study, criteria, and sub-criteria that affect the success of development banks were identified and then these criteria are ranked in order of their importance. The most important challenges facing development banks also have been introduced.