The development of the 6-layered cerebral neocortex is one of the most important events during nervous system development, and disturbances could result in various malformations, causing clinically intractable diseases, such as epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Pre-plate splitting is the first developmental step of the cortical plate formation. Without correct pre-plate splitting, normal cerebral cortex structures are disturbed. The Reelin-Dab1 molecular pathway plays a critical role during cerebral cortex development, and deficiencies in this pathway result in failed pre-plate splitting and an inverted cortical plate. This paper summarizes findings involving Reelin and pre-piate splitting and further explores the precise role of Reelin during pre-plate splitting.