The song spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving the group their second US No. 1.
The song was the No. 2 song of the year on the Billboard 1995 year-end chart.
"Waterfalls" peaked at No. 1 in New Zealand, Switzerland, and Germany, while reaching the top ten in many other countries.
"Waterfalls" received critical acclaim, earning two Grammy nominations at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards in 1996 for Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Jarett E. Nolan of BMG noted that "Waterfalls" was the first number one song ever to reference AIDS in one of its verses.