The available literature of palatoscopy is vast and extensive, but this review was considered to throw some light on history, different classifications of palatal rugae patterns and various studies done on palatoscopy. Palatal rugae were first described by Winslow in 1732. The earliest illustration of palatal rugae is by Santorini in 1775. The palatal rugae has been considered relevant for human identification due to its stable, being equivalent to the fingerprint, unique for each individual and study on the identification of persons is called palatoscopy or palatal rugoscopy. Several studies done in the past have revealed and statistically proved that the rugae patterns are highly individualistic and there are differences between genders and populations. Lysell’s classification in 1955 is the most important, and it has been used widely in research involving rugae. Finally, palatal rugae can be used as a reliable guide to the forensic identification.

Key words: Forensic; Odontology; Palatal rugae.