Analytical methods development and validation play important roles in the discovery, development, and manufacture of pharmaceuticals. The development of the pharmaceuticals brought a revolution in human health. These pharmaceuticals would serve their intent only if they are free from impurities and are administered in an appropriate amount. Currently, counterfeit medicine is a significant issue for the pharmaceutical world, and it targets all types of therapeutic areas. These pharmaceuticals may develop impurities at various stages of their development, transportation and storage which makes the pharmaceutical risky to be administered thus they must be detected and quantitated on spot even. For this analytical instrumentation and methods play an important role. Many of the methods require varying degrees of irreversible sample preparation (removal from sealed container or blister pack, crushing into powder, dissolution with solvent, etc.) and therefore cannot be used in nondestructive mode. Now, direct methods to detect counterfeit products and to analyze the properties of the product itself are available. This can either be achieved using laboratory-based testing of purchased or seized samples, or can increasingly be done using portable, non-invasive techniques. This review highlights the role of the analytical instrumentation and the analytical methods in assessing the quality of the drugs.