The basic approach that drug concentration–effect relationships are significantly invariant as a function of time in humans has led to the development of constant‐rate drug delivery systems. Nevertheless, there are a number of clinical situations where such an approach may not be sufficient. These include the delivery of insulin for patients who have diabetes mellitus, antiarrhythmics for patients who have heart rhythm disorders, gastric acid inhibitors for ulcer control, nitrates for patients who have angina pectoris, as well as selective β‐blockade, birth control, general hormone replacement, immunization, and cancer chemotherapy.In recent years, several research groups have been developing responsive systems that could more closely resemble the normal physiological process where the amount of drug released can be effected according to physiological needs. Responsive polymeric delivery systems can be classified as open or closed‐loop systems. Open‐loop control systems are those where information about the controlled variable is not automatically used to adjust the system inputs to compensate for the change in the process variables. In closed‐loop control systems, the controlled variable is detected, and as a result the system output is adjusted accordingly. In the controlled drug delivery field, open‐loop systems are known as pulsatile or externally regulated, and closed‐loop systems as self‐regulated. The externally controlled devices apply external triggers such as magnetic, ultrasonic, thermal, or electric irradiation for pulsatile delivery. In self‐regulated devices, the release rate is controlled by feedback information without any external intervention. Self‐regulated systems use several approaches as rate control mechanisms: pH‐sensitive polymers, enzyme–substrate reactions, pH‐sensitive drug solubility, competitive binding, antibody interactions, and metal concentration‐dependent hydrolysis.