This document reviews the history of previous attempts on the behaviour of performance and emissions of internal combustion engines (ICE) by invest fuel magnetization. Engine designers are currently confronting serious challenges related to the reduction of emissions in ICE by refining their fuel consumption and performance. In the past, numerous efforts have been materialized to lessen the emissions and upsurge the combustion efficiency. It is important to realise and characterise the influence of the combustion parameters when a magnetic field is applied to hydrocarbons. The need for a better understanding of the interaction between the magnetic fields and combustion processes has been clearly brought out in this review paper. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd