Literature relating to the fundamental nature of the fibrous state is reviewed with the goal of illustrating evidence for the existence of a possibly fundamental morphological unit, the elemental microfiber or fibril. Following a short summary of the rather well documented situation in natural fibers, the problem of the microfiber in synthetic fibers is probed in terms of phenomena in solution and bulk polymeric systems. The reviewed literature indicates the existence of unique, elemental microfibers in synthetic fibers is largely tenuous; however, there is wide evidence of the existence of complex elongated structures axially aligned within macrofibers which future work may resolve into a central microfiber. The structural complexity appears to simplify for transformations occurring in high shear fields. This review covers articles through 1971, and it is notable that in 1971 approximately 100 articles of high relevance appeared in major journals.