SummaryThe field of preview control has attracted many researchers for its applications in guidance of autonomous vehicles, robotics, and process control, as this field is well suited for use in design of systems that have reference signals known a priori. The paper presents the efforts of various researchers in the field of preview control. The literature available in this field, since 1966, is categorized based on formulation, method domain, solution approach, and objective. The preview control problem is formulated and solved using classical time‐domain optimal control design tools for under water vehicle model. The key observation obtained from the discussions shows the enormous scope of work available in the field of preview control. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.