There are numerous pathological changes that can affect the area of the maxilla and the mandible, some of which are lesions of odontogenic origin. That is a very heterogeneous group of lesions originating from epithelial and/or mesenchymal odontogenic tissue. They can take various forms, from hamartomas and cysts to benign and malignant neoplastic formations. In order to facilitate the process of proper diagnosis and thus of giving a prognosis and of choosing treatment, a need arose to systematise, organise and properly classify lesions of odontogenic origin. It was only in 1972 that the 1st edition of the international classification of odontogenic lesions was published under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO), starting an era of increasing interest in this area. With new molecular biological and immunohistochemical methodologies, this classification has been rapidly renewed and enriched with new knowledge, which resulted in a total of 5 editions of WHO classifications of odontogenic lesions. The goal of each of them was to provide a better insight into the vaguely described pathological changes and to contribute to a better understanding of the changes. In the last two classifications, from 2017 and 2022, great emphasis was placed on clinical features, molecular basis, and the nature of lesions of odontogenic origin, and not just on their histological features.