This paper reviews the production, synthesis, crystallography, particle morphology and spectroscopy of the insensitive high explosive nitroguanidine, (NGu, CH4N4O2), CAS‐No: [556‐88‐7] and its isotopologues [2D4]‐NGu and [15N4]‐NGu]. When compared with standard insensitive high explosives such as 1,3,5‐triamino‐2,4,6‐trinitrobenzene (TATB), 1,1‐diamino‐2,2‐dinitroethylene (FOX‐7) and N‐guanylurea dinitramide (FOX‐12), Nitroguanidine proves to be the least sensitive. The review gives 170 references to the public domain. For Part II see ref. [1].