Hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC), which includes the distribution, adsorption, ion exchange, and exclusion of analytes, has gained active development recently. The review covers the principles of the method, types of stationary and mobile phases, mechanisms of retention of highly polar compounds under HILIC conditions, implementation of 2D chromatography, and also fields of application of the method. Keywords: hydrophilic chromatography, retention mechanism, reverse phase HPLC, normal phase mode, HILIC stationary phases, zwitterionic phases, high polar analytes