Amongst various refractory metals, tungsten has the greatest potentiality for high temperature applications due to its exceptional strength to weight ratio at temperatures above 1,370 ℃ （2,500 ℉）. During the past three decades significant research efforts have been directed towards the improvement of the conventional methods of tungsten extraction and to devop new processes to reduce the number of steps from ore to metallic tungsten. In this paper geological occurrence of tungsten minerals and principles of benefication methods are outlined. The commercial processes of extraction from wolframite and scheelite and different approaches to the reduction of tungstic oxide are discussed. Methods of recovery from scrap and the current research efforts are also reviewed.