Abstract: Abstract: Visual word form processing is one of essential stages in reading. The neural pathway of visual word form processing was implicated in the neurological model of reading, which was based on early studies in patients with acquired reading disorders. With the development of functional neuroimaging techniques and discovery of visual word form area in left mid-fusiform gyrus, the researchers have modified the construction of the neural pathway underlying visual word form processing and proposed the advanced version of reading model. In this article, neuropsychological studies on pure alexia and functional neuroimaging of neural mechanisms of visual word form processing in normal subjects are reviewed. The limitations of the existing studies and future research directions in the field are discussed

Key words: visual word form area, neural pathway, left mid-fusiform gyrus