Additive technology is raising a huge interest in all industry sectors, due to its peculiarities compared to more traditional manufacturing processes. Some advantages typical to this technology include the possibility to generate ideally any shape (geometrical complexity) and to reduce the number of parts required to obtain a given shape (functional integration). In addition, there is no (or very little) waste of material since only what is actually needed is used. It is interesting to notice that the technology is spreading also to critical parts, like turbine blades for energy and aero applications: components having rather complex shapes with internal cooling channels that are very challenging from the manufacturing point of view. AM processes have been proven to ensure lower cost, wider range of metal alloys and higher mechanical strength over conventional solutions. Some drawbacks are still associated to AM: build rates are generally slower than with traditional manufacturing processes, furthermore the size of the object that can be built is limited by the printing devices currently available. The process itself is somehow critical: it involves the sequential layer wise deposition and selective melting of material, which causes complex heat transfer. High stress gradients, varying at different locations of the components, need to be dealt with. Residual stresses can lead to deformation or failure of the component during the process itself, or after the relief treatment, if build strategy and parameters are not optimized.Powder Bed Fusion is the current standard designation of Additive Manufacturing processes in which a metal powder is laid in a bed and turned into a solid section by means of a high-energy beam. The term groups several processes that share the same layout, to such an extent that mere variations of process parameters result in a shift from one to another. This review addresses standards, machine layouts, process parameters, anisotropy, materials and properties, microstructures and possible defects. The main fields of application are then treated, focusing on outstanding success examples, to end with a critical discussion of risks and opportunities and an overview of the trends in research.