This book explores one of the most effective physical methods for studying chemical compounds, and provides a treatment of the theory of Raman scattering by molecules and crystals, a description of molecular and crystalline vibrations and an analysis of their symmetry. It also details various effects of phonon absorption and scattering in crystals, characteristics of vibrational bands (wavenumber, bandwidth and intensity), nonlinear and anharmonic effects in vibrational spectra, and a description of Raman spectroscopic techniques. The book will appeal to students and scientists whose interests lie in the field of research of chemical, mineralogical, and biological systems.