The aims of this paper are to demonstrate a critical review of the multitude of progress in solar PV research and applications in Bangladesh since its inception in 1996 till 2010. Our studies show that Bangladesh has been experiencing an accelerated shift towards solar PV to meet the gap between demand and supply of electricity along with conventional electricity generation. Despite the present generation of electricity from solar PV is 15–20MW, both public and private sectors have started several solar PV projects to generate several hundred of MW by the upcoming years. This paper has also tried to identify the critical barriers for widespread dissemination of solar PV in Bangladesh and has discussed possible ways to overcome those barriers as well.