Recently utilities are continuously seeking cost-effective and accurate power quality (PQ) improvement techniques in order to achieve customer satisfaction. This paper intends to provide a comprehensive review on the status of topological aspects of techniques used to improve the power quality in distribution network for the researchers, designers and engineers working in this area. This review helps to select a PQ improvement technique that suits a specific application in terms of technical and economical aspects. More than 300 research publications on the state of the art of PQ improvement techniques have been rigorously analyzed, classified and listed for quick reference. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.