Abstract In this paper the authors review various applications of analysing fabric in granites from Indian cratons using anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS). First the general importance of AMS in identifying the internal fabric in massive granitoids devoid of visible foliations/lineations is highlighted. Subsequently, three important applications of AMS in granitoids are discussed. (a) The case of Godhra Granite (southern parts of the Aravalli Mountain Belt) is presented as an example of the robustness of AMS in working out the time relationship between emplacement/fabric development and regional deformation by integrating field, microstructural and magnetic data. (b) AMS orientation data from Chakradharpur Granitoid (eastern India) are compared with field-based information from the vicinity of the Singhbhum Shear Zone to highlight the use of AMS in kinematic analysis and vorticity quantification of syntectonic granitoids. (c) Magnetic fabric orientations from the Mulgund Granite (Dharwar Craton) are presented to document the application of AMS in recognizing superposed deformation in granitoids. Moreover, AMS data from Mulgund Granite are also compared with data from another pluton of similar age ( c. 2.5 Ga) from the Dharwar Craton (Koppal Granitoid; syenitic composition). This highlights the use of AMS from granitoids of similar absolute ages in constraining the age of regional superposed deformation.