Reactive distillation has become one of the most interesting alternatives in different fields of chemical engineering. The basic problem in RD designing consists of estimating the feasibility for steady states with maximal conversion and selectivity, and then proposing the respective flow sheets. Although in recent years the number of publications in RD has increased dramatically, general approaches to solve this task have not as yet been established. This paper presents a review of general shortcut strategies for the analysis and synthesis of reactive distillation flow sheets. In the beginning we analyze the reactive mass-exchange processes in general and their advantages. Basic concepts are clearly explained and illustrated. The main steps of our approach (analysis of statics) for reactive distillation processes are offered in detail using schemes and various examples.