Synopsis Catfishes currently are the most sought after group of fishes by researchers drawn from very diverse areas, conventional ones like systematics, palaeontology, zoogeography, anatomy and biology, ecology, behaviour, genetics, gastronomy, fisheries and aquaculture as well as modern R&D like plasma chemistry, cloning, immunocytochemistry and the like. No investigation on catfish is rewarding, be it way area of research, unless their life style and adaptation capabilities are well understood. Understanding the biological significance of the catfish soft anatomy will go a long way in helping us towards this. Unfortunately, catfish soft anatomy remained neglected until recently at the hands of the hard part anatomy (skeletal structures)-the favoured subject of the systematists /taxonomists and palaeontologists. The present review attempts to fulfil this lacuna by unraveling the great wealth of information which remained scattered in the literature, in one place. It is hoped that researchers working the world over on any aspect of catfish will find this updated presentation on catfish soft anatomy a useful resource material in their respective field of interest.