In many areas of high seismicity, one can witness traditional construction systems in brick masonry with timber elements. These traditional timber-reinforced constructions are based on empirical knowledge acquired through the generations in response to the natural hazards encountered. This timber-reinforced construction may be classified in to two categories, one is of timber-framed construction and another is of timber-laced construction. An important and interesting feature of these timber-reinforced masonry construction is their resilience to seismic action. In recent earthquakes (Turkey 1999, Kashmir 2005 and Sikkim 2011) these constructions showed excellent performance in contrast to the modern but unregulated multi-story RC buildings with URM infill. The seismicity of the Himalayan region in the Indian subcontinent is notorious. Several timber-reinforced construction systems have been developed in this region, depending upon the socio-economic-environment conditions; to name a few: Dhajji-Dewari, Taq, Kath-khuni and Ekra. This paper initially presents a comprehensive review of numerical and experimental studies on the traditional timber-framed constructions relevant to the Himalayan region, as there were few studies on the timber-laced masonry constructions a specific case study on Taq system had been carried out to identify critical parameters responsible for their desirable seismic performance. © 2019, RILEM.