A review is made of the experimental and theoretical investigations of the helical instability in semiconductors, beginning from the discovery of this effect by Ivanov and Ryvkin in 1958 and ending with papers published in 1973. A detailed analysis is made of the excitation of helical waves under oscillation and spatial amplification conditions, nonlinear effects in the excitation of the helical instability, possibility of using semiconductors for modeling processes occurring in gas plasmas, and influence of the band structure of semiconductors on the development of the helical instability. Special attention is paid to possible applications of the helical instability in semoconductors and to unsolved problems. Attentions is drawn to the need for further studies of the nonlinear effects which accompany the development of the helical instability and the effects due to the complex band structure of semiconductors.