The antioxidant capacity of complex heterogeneous foods and biological systems is affected by many factors. Considering the importance of antioxidants, it is of great interest to know the antioxidant capacity of the constituents in foods. The Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) is a parameter that provides information on the overall status of antioxidants within a complex biological sample. TAC, as determined by Trolox Equivalent Antioxidant Capacity (TEAC) method, offers several advantages over other methods and is relatively easy. Due to its operational simplicity, the TEAC assay has been used for studying antioxidant capacity and TEAC values of many compounds and food samples. The article deals with various developments in the method, its merits and demerits and its application in determining the TAC of various food commodities.