Fusion of a pyrone ring with a benzene nucleus gives rise to a class of heterocyclic compounds called Benzopyrones, of which two distinct types are recognized: (1) benzo-α-pyrone commomly called coumarins and (2) benzo-ϒ-pyrone called chromones or flavanoids, latter differing from former only in the position of the carbonyl group in heterocyclic system. Coumarins have attracted considerable attention of medicinal chemists and pharmacologists in recent years as they been demonstrated to bear various pharmacological activities like anti microbial, anti oxidant, anti inflammatory and analgesic, anti cancer, ulcerogenic, anti malarial, antihyperlipidemic, tyrosinase inhibitor, anti convulsant, anti-parkinsonian, antihepatitis, anticoagulant, cholinesterase inhibitor, vasorelaxant. This review focus on therapeutic importance of coumarins along with various methods of synthesis. INTRODUCTION: Coumarins are cinnamic acid derived phenolic compounds which are found in fungi, bacteria and plants, particularly in edible plants of different botanical families. The name coumarin is derived from `coumarou', which is the vernacular name of Tonka bean (Dipteryx odorata willd, Fabaceae), from which coumarin was isolated in 1820 1. Coumarin comes under the benzopyrone family of compounds, all of which consist of a benzene ring joined to a pyrone ring 2. Coumarins can be subdivided into two categories: