Dentistry is a much developed field in the last few decades. New techniques have changed the conventional treatment methods as applications of new dental materials give better outcomes. The current century has suddenly forced on dentistry, a new paradigm regarding expected standards for state-of-the-art patient care. Within the field of restorative dentistry, the incredible advances in dental materials research have led to the current availability of esthetic adhesive restorations. The chemistry and structure of the resins and the nature of the glass fiber reinforced systems in dental composites are reviewed in relation to their influence and properties including mechanical, physical, thermal, biocompatibility, technique sensitivity, mode and rate of failure of restorations on clinical application. It is clear that a deeper understanding of the structure of the polymeric matrix and resin-based dental composite is required. As a result of ongoing research in the area of glass fiber reinforced composites and with the development and advancement of these composites, the future prospects of resin-based composite are encouraging. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.