We review some results of the recent progress in understanding two-dimensional quantum gravity and low-dimensional string theories based on the lattice approach. The possibility to solve the lattice models exactly comes from their equivalence to large N matrix models. We describe various matrix models and their continuum limits, and discuss in some detail the phase structure of Hermitian one-matrix models. For the one-dimensional matrix model we discuss its field theoretic formulation through a collective field method and summarize some perturbative results. We compare the results obtained from matrix models to the results in the continuum approach to string theory.
Unifying lattice models, links and quantum geometric Langlands via branes in string theory