Low salinity waterflooding has gained significant attention and importance in the last decade, as it is seen as an impactful method for recovery of additional oil from carbonate reservoirs. Existing literature does not do justice to the underlying mechanisms that aid in the recovery of additional oil from such rock types. In this paper, we present a comprehensive review of the research conducted on low salinity waterflooding in carbonates and further provide a detailed and critical analysis on the same. The intention of this paper is also to present a condensed research summary on the said topic, and to chart out a detailed roadmap for future work, thereby opening the possibilities of new avenues of research in the field. © 2021, The Author(s).