Power quality problems in electric systems are one of the important topics that occupy a wide area of interest to researchers and engineers. The increased use of power electronics circuits has led to improve efficiency and performance of the equipment; on the other hand, they withdraw a non-sinusoidal current and increase the harmonics which causes a decrease in the power quality. Also, these electronic devices are sensitive to power quality problems. However, advanced electronics can be employed to mitigate these problems. The Distribution static synchronous compensator (D-STATCOM) is one of the Custom Power Devices (CPDs) used for this purpose. D-STATCOM can be designed with different topologies, algorithms, and techniques of control to mitigate various power quality problems that face the power system. Selecting the D-STATCOM design depends on the power quality problem that needs to be mitigated. This paper presents a literature review of D-STATCOM from its beginnings to the present day.