Plastic wave experiments are reviewed, beginning with the earliest experiments of Bell on the propagation of incremental waves in prestressed bars. Attention is directed to experiments in which the plastic wave profile at different distances of propagation is used to infer information on the dynamic plastic response of the material in which the wave is propagating. Plastic waves in bars, tubes, and plates are considered. Principal results are reviewed on such primary physical features as the velocity of propagation of incremental waves, the dynamic elastic limit, the wave profiles of finite amplitude waves, and the effects of nonproportional loading. Objectives for future research are suggested.