As a consequence of modern drug discovery techniques, lipid-based drug delivery systems are the most popular approaches usually used to improve the dissolution and oral bioavailability of hydrophobic drugs. Self-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SEDDS), as one class of these lipid-based systems, are isotropic mixtures of oil, surfactants and co-surfactants where the drug is usually better soluble than in oil alone. The principal characteristic of SEDDS is their ability to form fine oil in water micro-emulsifying drug delivery systems (MEDDS) upon dilution by an aqueous phase through the gastrointestinal tract. SEDDS are considered promising strategy to improve the rate and extent of oral absorption of drugs. However conventional liquid SEDDS have some limitations, solid SEDDS are prepared by solidification of liquid self-emulsifying ingredients into powders or nanoparticles. This overview gives a particular emphasis on the solidification techniques and applications of liquid SEDDS in the pharmaceutical dosage forms to meet a wide range of the formulation requirements achieving reasonable routes of administration with efficient oral bioavailability.