The ways of using earth to build have points of contact withother systems and techniques such as bricks, stone and reinforcedconcrete. However, as the uses of natural materials are scarcelyknown, we intend to put forward some explanations in this article.Earth has been present in Architecture since the first human buildingmanifestations and occurs in almost any region of warm ortemperate climate and is less present in cold weather places. Thematerials available and the form of expression of different culturesgave raise to a variety of building techniques that use only earth orcombine it with other animal, vegetal or mineral materials. Takingall these varieties, the majority of which is still in use, it is possibleto make a general classification that allows us to explore its characteristics,advantages and inconveniences. For such purpose, wehave divided these kinds of construction into three groups: rammedearth, wattle and daub and brickwork. Therefore, we will analyzethese systems according to the three mentioned groups, addingsome other applications of earth either as the main componentor as a complement of other materials. We will look over the mainadvantages and inconveniences of earth architecture in each ofthe systems. At the end we include a basic bibliography to enhancefurther knowledge of the theme.