The paper reviews recent developments in $$\gamma $$
γ
-ray spectroscopy of the neutron-rich fragments produced in nuclear fission. This subject has been an intensive area of study spanning more than five decades. Here we highlight key results and describe the evolution of the associated experimental techniques since the last review papers in 1995 (I. Ahmad and W.R. Phillips, Rep. Prog. Phys. 58(11), 1415 (1995); J. H. Hamilton et al., Prog. Part. Nucl. Phys. 35, 635(1995)). Research themes in nuclear structure will be explored along with the fission reaction mechanism and the links to nuclear astrophysics and applications.