The earliest mathematical studies of control systems focused solely on the input–output stability of systems, as described in the works of Black, Bode, and Nyquist. In fact, most of the classical control work was limited to the input–output study of single‐input–single‐output linear and mostly time‐invariant systems. With the popularity of state‐space methods, Lyapunov stability concepts became the preferred analysis and design tools for nonlinear systems until the 1980s, when researchers became interested again in the input–output behavior of systems. The relationships between the input–output and Lyapunov stability concepts were the subject of thorough investigations, culminating with the various versions of the Kalman–Yakubovich–Popov lemma. The current studies in input–output systems are highly dynamic due to the introduction of new concepts (such as input‐to‐state stability and input–output finite‐time stability), the interaction with geometric nonlinear control, and applications to robust and adaptive control. In this article, we concentrate our discussion on continuous‐time systems and survey the classical as well as the more recent results in the input–output approach. The article starts with a collection of basic definitions, followed by the general results on the basic concepts of input–output stability and results for testing input–output stability and its relationship with Lyapunov stability. Next, we discuss the stability of interconnected systems and present the small‐gain and passivity results. Related concepts such as absolute stability, dissipativity, and input‐to‐output stability and input–output finite‐time stability are then reviewed, followed by our conclusions. We have attempted to include the main references about input–output stability, striving to be current and relevant rather than all‐encompassing.