Tapioca starch is obtained from the roots of the cassava plant, which is found in equatorial regions between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The name cassava is generally applied to the roots of the plant, whereas tapioca is the name given to starch and other processed products. The large central pith of the cassava roots is the starch-reserve flesh and can range in starch content from as low as 15% to as high as 33%. The machinery of tapioca processing is highly varied. There are well-equipped factories that utilize local, custom-built devices for processing roots, product streams, by-products and effluent. Tapioca starch is differentiated from other starches by its low level of residual materials, lower amylose content than for other amylose-containing starches, and high molecular weights of amylose and amylopectin. Starch modifications can be classified as physical modifications, chemical modifications, and genetic modifications. The greatest diversity of uses of tapioca starch is in the food industry. As an ingredient in foods, native and modified tapioca starch has been widely utilized. Other food applications generally make use of tapioca starch as a thickener and stabilizer, with special emphasis on its lack of flavor contribution to food systems, allowing full and immediate detection of the flavor of the food itself. Tapioca starch consumption in industrial applications has been more related to economics than to any unique functionality. Paper manufacturing industry and textile industry are significant users of starch.