Single basin solar still is a very simple solar device used for converting available brackish or waste water into potable water. This device can be fabricated easily with locally available materials. The maintenance is also cheap and no skilled labor is required. This device can be a suitable solution to solve drinking water problem. Because of its low productivity it is not popularly used. Numbers of works are undertaken to improve the productivity of the still. In this work progresses in the works done on single basin passive types still to improve its productivity are reviewed. The orientation and inclination are optimized to receive maximum radiation and lower the condensation loss. Different materials are used in the basin along with water to improve the heat capacity, radiation absorption capacity and enhance the evaporation rate. Rubber is the best basin material to improve absorption, storage and evaporation effects. The effect of varying the depth of the basin water is also studied.