At the core of doctoral education is the importance of the quality of the supervisor and student relationship. Research has shown that this relationship is directly linked to completion rates, and impacts the quality of the doctorate and its ultimate success or failure (Gill and Burnard, 2008). One influence on the supervisory relationship is the supervisory management style. The doctoral supervisory relationship rests on a variety of factors, but what seemed to emerge from the literature is the unique styles of the supervisor. The purpose of the article is to review the literature to explore the elements of supervisory styles for further discussion, drawing on 83 previous studies relating to research degrees, including professional doctorates. Numerous factors were identified in the literature that influence the supervisory relationship. One key influence in the supervision pedagogy is supervisory style. Adaptation of styles such as the 'laissez faire type, the pastoral type, the contractual style and the directorial type' influence the supervisory relationship (Gatfield, 2005). It is important to note that a systematic review was not conducted for this article, but rather the 83 articles are a part of a systematic review that was conducted to retrieve a parent study on professional doctorates.