Abstract. The domain of validity of standard thermodynamics and Boltzmann-Gibbs statistical mechanics is focused on along a historical perspective. It is then formally enlarged in order to hopefully cover a variety of anomalous systems. The generalization concerns nonextensive systems, where nonextensivity is understood in the thermodynamical sense. This generalization was first proposed in 1988 inspired by the probabilistic description of multifractal geometry, and has been intensively studied during this decade. In the present effort, we describe the formalism, discuss the main ideas, and then exhibit the present status in what concerns theoretical, experimental and computational evidences and connections, as well as some perspectives for the future. The whole review can be considered as an attempt to clarify our current understanding of the foundations of statistical mechanics and its thermodynamical implications.