Clutia abyssinica naturally occurs in east, central and southern Africa where it is widely used in folk and traditional medicine for diverse human diseases. In this review, medicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties of C. abyssinicaare summarized. Several secondary metabolites such as 5-methylcoumarins, diterpenes with a secolabdane skeleton, essential oils, alkaloids, anthraquinones, cardiac glycosides, flavonoids, phenolics, saponins, steroids, tannins and terpernoids have been identified from the leaves and roots of the species. Analgesic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antidiarrheal, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, antiplasmodial, antitrypanosomal, antipyretic, diuretic and hepatoprotective activities have been reported fromC. abyssinica extracts. Future research on C. abyssinicashould focus on the possible biochemical mechanisms of both the crude extracts and identified phytochemical compounds including toxicological, in vivo and clinical studies to corroborate the traditional medical applications of the species. © 2020, Indian journals. All rights reserved.