Glycerol monolaurate (GML) is a versatile green chemical with wide industrial applicability, including in the food, pharmaceutical, and personal care product industries. This review provides a thorough analysis of the processes involved in GML production, along with the diverse applications of GML. And also, addresses various limitations and challenges associated with esterification of lauric acid with glycerol to produce GML through enzymatic, homogeneous, and heterogeneous catalytic pathways. Among these routes, heterogeneous catalytic routes exhibited superior catalytic activity, achieving over 90% selectivity with good stability. Furthermore, the review offers a constructive assessment of the process parameters associated with catalysts and reaction conditions that influence the GML yield and selectivity. Notably, wide pore and short pore length were found to be suitable for attaining higher selectivity in esterification of lauric acid. Techno-economic assessments suggest that the enzyme route is more environmentally sustainable. However, in practice, the heterogeneous catalytic route proves more suitable for industrial-scale production. Therefore, this review may provide crucial guidance for researchers and industries aiming to produce GML in an economic and eco- friendly manner.