This review could be of significant importance in the area of ivermectin analytical method development studies. Background Ivermectin is one of the first, safe, broad spectrum, avermectin (AVM) class of antiparasitic agent, widely used to control parasitic growth in livestock. Ivermectin being highly lipophilic accumulates in fat tissues, causing its long-term existence in the body. Accordingly ivermectin residues are observed in various animal products such as milk and meat causing several health hazards. Therefore, monitoring of ivermectin residue levels in the various food products of animal origin is greatly important to ensure the safety of the consumers. Objective/Methods In this context, a critical review of analytical methods present in the literature for detection and quantification of ivermectin in pharmaceutical formulations, and biological materials including animal tissues. Results Several analytical methods based on HPLC FLD, UV-DAD, HPLC-MS/MS, UPLC-MS/MS, and capillary electrophoresis techniques have been utilized for the simultaneous determination of ivermectin singly or in the presence of other drugs with realistic retention times. Several derivatization strategies were used to introduce fluorophore followed by extraction into organic phase to remove the matrix interferences and enhance the sensitivity by pre-concentration. Methods such as HPLC linked to tandem-mass spectrometry were developed to lower the detection limit and quantification limit, with no requirement for derivatization. Conclusions More simple, selective, fast, sensitive and green chemistry oriented methods for ivermectin analysis are needed to be developed. Novel analytical devices based on pulsed electrochemical methods, voltammetry and amperometry can be developed for real time analysis of ivermectin in addition to biosensors based on nanotechnology including quantum dots and nanoparticles etc. Highlights Various methods described in the review include high-performance liquid chromatography techniques with ultraviolet or visible spectrophotometric, fluorescence and mass spectrometric detection techniques, capillary electrophoresis and immunological methods.