Among the various routes of administration, the ora
l route remains the most convenient and commonly em
ployed route for drug delivery. The oral
conventional drug delivery systems have some drawba
cks, such as possibility of gastrointestinal destru
ction of labile molecules, low absorption of
macromolecules, slow onset of action, and unavoidab
le fluctuation in the concentration of drugs which
can either lead to under-or over medication with
concomitant adverse effects, especially for drugs w
ith small therapeutic index. Therefore, it became e
ssential to design novel oral drug delivery systems
to achieve quick dissolution, absorption, rapid ons
et of action and reduction of drug dose. Among thos
e novel drug delivery systems are oral
disintegrating tablets (ODTs). The purpose of this
review article is to report the recent advances in
ODT systems with emphasis on their preparations,
characterizations and applications. Also, it highli
ghts future prospects and possible challenges in th
e development of an ideal ODT system.