This paper surveys the literature examining securitization. Besides describing the economic motivation for the use of securitization, the paper provides details on securitization characteristics and players, presents the recent trends of securitization markets, describes the role played by securitization in the 2007-2008 financial crisis, and compares the financial characteristics of securitization transactions for a large cross-section of ABS, MBS and CDO tranches issued during the 2000-2011 period. Securitization creates value by increasing liquidity, reducing the cost of funding, allowing originators to diversify funding sources, improving originators' risk management, and allowing originators to benefit from regulatory arbitrage and to improve key financial ratios. However, securitization transactions are complex undertakings, they are expensive to set up, and increase the deadweight transaction costs associated with principalagent and asymmetric information problems when used inappropriately.