In this study, wide overview of the existing line start permanent magnet synchronous motors literature is presented. The treatment of the subject has been effectively sub‐divided in to five sections; (i) rotor topologies and design, (ii) steady state analysis, (iii) transient state analysis, (iv) parameter estimation and (v) high efficiency standards. Although, there are numerous papers published in each category, only those important papers which have made significant contributions in the developments and thus triggered research in this field are discussed here.