Background: Derivative spectroscopy came into existence in the 1950s as it was advantageous in several aspects which includes effortless multicomponent analysis, elimination of unnecessary background absorption, resolution of overlapping bands, and qualitative and quantitative analysis. Higher order derivative spectra are obtained here such as, first order spectra, second order spectra, third order spectra etc. Main body: In this review paper, we have concentrated mainly on first, second, and third order derivative spectrophotometric method development and validation of several medications that are either present singly or in combination in the formulation. Short conclusion: From the review we can conclude that derivative spectrophotometric methods have accelerated and eased the process for analysing the given sample using a broad range of solvents.