This document provides an overview of complex instruction set computers (CISC). It defines CISC as having a microprocessor architecture that aims to achieve complex operations with single instructions and favors instruction set richness over speed of individual instructions. It discusses typical CISC architectures like x86, characteristics like variable length instructions and powerful assembly instructions. It also covers addressing modes, performance considerations, pros and cons of CISC, and recent developments like explicitly parallel instruction computing (EPIC) being a potential future of CISC and RISC architectures.