Plants still remain the basis for development of modern drugs for the preservation of health in the rural and urban communities worldwide in this present technological era. Garcinia kola (bitter kola) is referred to as a __ampersandsignldquo;wonder plant__ampersandsignrdquo; because every part of it has been found to be of medicinal importance. Research carried out using different in vitro and in vivo techniques of biological evaluation supports most of its folkloric claims. This review compiled the ethno botanical/medicinal, phytochemistry, pharmacological, clinical and toxicological studies carried on this plant using references from various database.