QR code stands for ?Quick Response? code. It was developed by Denso Wave Corporation in Japan. A QR code is a special type of code that can encode information like numbers, letters, and Kanji characters. It is a two-dimensional code which is able to encode more information than one-dimensional barcode. Also, they are fast readable codes. The emergence of smart phones increases the use of QR code because a smart phone has features of scanning and decoding a QR code. The emergence of technology in the area of mobile internet access encourages the online marketers, newspapers and magazines to use QR codes for the advertisement of their products. These codes have various significances over traditional barcodes like greater storage capacity, fast readability, 360 degree reading, small print size, error correction and support for more languages. The paper attempts to highlight the QR codes, its characteristics, creating process, encoding, decoding, significance and downsides.