OBJECTIVES: Atypical antipsychotics are a class of drug that is relatively new, and consequently few pharmacoepidemiologic studies have been conducted to assess the safety, prevalence, incidence, adverse effects or trends of atypical antipsychotic use. The objective of this study was to use descriptive analysis to examine the trends of atypical antipsychotic utilization among adults in the United States from 2005-2016. METHODS: The data were derived from the National Health Examination and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) which conducts cross-sectional surveys that consist of a nationally representative sample of the non-institutionalized civilian population. Prescription drug and demographic information were collected from the NHANES 2005 to 2016 datafiles. Patients under the age of 18 as well as patients with missing demographic information were excluded from the study. Age, race and gender information were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Trend analysis was conducted to explore the utilization rates of antipsychotics from 2005-2016. RESULTS: The total population (N=164) was mostly female (57%), non-Hispanic white (46%), aged 40-64 (60%) and using aripiprazole (42%). In the earlier years (2005-2014), only a few different atypical antipsychotics were reported to have been used by the patients. In 2015, 12% of patients reported using new atypical antipsychotics such as brexpiprazole, lurasidone paliperidone and ziprasidone. Increases in the rates of atypical antipsychotic use, from 2005 to 2016, were seen among all age groups, gender types, and race‐ethnic groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study was the first to exclusively assess the trends of atypical antipsychotic utilization using descriptive analysis in a nationally representative sample. The results of this study can be used to inform prescribing behavior, clinical decision-making processes, and to predictively model future trends in atypical antipsychotic use. Further research should be conducted to assess the trends in institutionalized populations within the US as these patients have a higher risk of atypical antipsychotic exposure.