The current review describes a critical survey of various methods for the shape- and size-selective synthesis of anisotropic metallic nanostructures, especially, of gold and silver. Although substantial progress in the size and shape control of metallic nanostructures has been made for years, we focus a concise review of most recent advances for the fabrication of anisotropic metallic nanostructures. We begin with the novel synthesis protocols of various anisotropic nanostructures with specific classification, and discuss briefly their remarkable size- and shape-dependant properties. The growth mechanism is also introduced independently for such structures illustrating the importance of several key variables like ligand to metal ion ratios, ligand chain lengths, nature of stabilizers or capping agents, solvents, temperature, and additive ions. Finally, applications of these nanostructures have been discussed.