The water and the energy are the two most essential things for the sustaining of life. Only less the 1% water is available for the society for direct use, out of which the maximum fraction has been polluted due to non-manageable industrial developments. A solar still is a device which can solve the problem of potable water without using the high grade energy .An overview has been given in this paper of introduction to solar still with a view to explain the principle and the mechanism of operation.