The use of substrate integrated waveguides (SIW) for microwave and millimeter wave integrated components has increased dramatically over the last decade. They mimic the performance of conventional metallic waveguides and they are fabricated using printed circuit boards using the top and bottom metallization with two rows of vias forming the side walls. This creates a low profile, compact, and light weight alternative to conventional metallic waveguides, and they allow a direct interconnection with printed circuit boards and active components. This article reviews the fundamental theory, documents the research that has been performed over the past decade, and summarizes progress up to the recent state-of-the-art including novel SIW structures for passive circuits and antennas as well as new applications for reconfigurable and printed circuits using SIW technology.