This review article provides an overview of wound dressings, tracing their history from ancient times to modern advancements. It discusses the dynamic and complex nature of wound healing, which involves four phases: coagulation and hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and maturation. The article highlights the importance of suitable dressing materials in promoting healing, emphasizing the need for materials that maintain a moist environment, enhance epidermal migration, promote angiogenesis, allow gas exchange, maintain tissue temperature, protect against infection, and be non-adherent and easy to remove. The review categorizes dressings into traditional and modern types, detailing their characteristics and applications. Traditional dressings, such as gauze, lint, and bandages, are dry and used for primary or secondary protection. Modern dressings, on the other hand, are designed to facilitate wound function by keeping the wound moist and promoting healing. These include semi-permeable film dressings, foam dressings, hydrogels, hydrocolloids, alginate dressings, and bioactive dressings. Each type is described in terms of its composition, properties, and suitability for different wound types. The article also discusses tissue-engineered skin substitutes and medicated dressings, which incorporate drugs to enhance healing. Composite dressings, combining multiple layers for various functions, are another advanced form of dressing. Despite the numerous options available, the article concludes that no single dressing is superior for all types of chronic wounds, emphasizing the need for further research to develop more effective dressing materials.This review article provides an overview of wound dressings, tracing their history from ancient times to modern advancements. It discusses the dynamic and complex nature of wound healing, which involves four phases: coagulation and hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and maturation. The article highlights the importance of suitable dressing materials in promoting healing, emphasizing the need for materials that maintain a moist environment, enhance epidermal migration, promote angiogenesis, allow gas exchange, maintain tissue temperature, protect against infection, and be non-adherent and easy to remove. The review categorizes dressings into traditional and modern types, detailing their characteristics and applications. Traditional dressings, such as gauze, lint, and bandages, are dry and used for primary or secondary protection. Modern dressings, on the other hand, are designed to facilitate wound function by keeping the wound moist and promoting healing. These include semi-permeable film dressings, foam dressings, hydrogels, hydrocolloids, alginate dressings, and bioactive dressings. Each type is described in terms of its composition, properties, and suitability for different wound types. The article also discusses tissue-engineered skin substitutes and medicated dressings, which incorporate drugs to enhance healing. Composite dressings, combining multiple layers for various functions, are another advanced form of dressing. Despite the numerous options available, the article concludes that no single dressing is superior for all types of chronic wounds, emphasizing the need for further research to develop more effective dressing materials.