Lentil is an important pulse crop grown in many countries of the world since its domestication in the Fertile Crescent of the Near East. Its seed is used for human food and straw as animal feed, and the crop has a unique role in sustainable cereal-based cropping systems, most particularly in Asia and Africa. Lentil is mainly eaten with rice or wheat products to provide a nutritionally balanced food. It is an important source of protein, carbohydrates, fibers, vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids, and micronutrients. Lentil seeds contain 19.5 - 35.5% protein and 35 - 55% carbohydrates. Among various sources of carbohydrates from cereals, tubers and other pulses, lentil carbohydrates contain low glycemic index, thus contributes positively to health of diabetes patients. Potassium up to 8.6 g/kg and phosphorus up to 29 g/kg are the major minerals present in lentil cotyledons. It contains low level of galactooligosccharides compared to other pulse crops, which cause flatulence and intestinal discomfort in humans. Recently, biofortification of lentil with Iron (Fe) and Zinc (Zn) by breeding has become an important research area to nutritionally improve the crop. In this endeavor, > 1200 lentil accessions comprising of landraces and breeding lines showed enormous variability for Fe (41-109 mg/kg) and Zn (22-77 mg/kg) contents. A number of released varieties in Nepal, Ethiopia, Syria, Turkey, Portugal, Bangladesh and Syria found to possess high contents of Fe (72-98 mg/kg) and Zn. Hybridization between high Fe and Zn content parents are underway to develop transgressive segregants containing more Fe and Zn than their parents, which will eventually be delivered to national programs.