This paper reviews issues related to butadiene production via bio-ethanol conversion from the days of Lebedev until today. A catalogue of catalytic systems proposed till date were identified; the inevitable role of various dopants in enhancing catalytic activity, physico-chemical analysis of certain catalytic trends and prospects for the development of the old process by the implementation of process initiators and the use of new generation catalysts with higher performance and better tolerance to coking problems, and the impact of shale gas exploitation on the supply and demand of butadiene were also discussed.