Since its origination in the middle of the past century, the Ilizarov method has advanced greatly and has become a viable method for bone lengthening, severe deformity correc- tion, and defect management. As the reported studies show, it remains one of the most used tools for bone reconstruction. The original method and its modifications continue to be the topic of interest for orthopaedic scientists as evidenced by the number of clinical studies on the Ilizarov method that have been published in orthopaedic journals in the period from 2000 through 2014, most of which present the out- comes of treating large series of patients using distraction osteogenesis for bone lengthening, defect management, and deformity correction. We made a review of contemporary clinical studies on the Ilizarov method used for bone length- ening and defect management.