Currently, delicious and essential items are intentionally diluted to gain higher profit in the market. Awareness about the quality of naturally derived products such as food, nutrients, cosmetics, and drugs has increased. An economical method for their quality assessment is needed. In this regard, high‐performance thin‐layer chromatography is an inexpensive, fast, and reproducible technique for quality control. The basics of thin‐layer chromatography and high‐performance thin‐layer chromatography have been reviewed previously, but a comprehensive compilation of its applications is lacking. The current review focuses on high‐performance thin‐layer chromatography based analytical methods for the quality assessment of various plant species, plant materials, plant‐derived products, food and nutrients, and cosmetics (natural origin). This review covers all aspects of high‐performance thin‐layer chromatography and will prove fruitful for research and development in academia and industry.