The paper is focused on the development and application of fission-track analysis in Bulgaria from the first experiments in the 1980s to the present. The results from two different approaches (the conventional method and fission-track analysis using LA-ICP-MS), obtained for deciphering the thermal and tectonic evolution of several zones of the Balkanides, are summarized. They demonstrate the significance of the method and its considerable contribution to the understanding of Bulgarian geology.