Wireless mobile ad-hoc networks are characterized as networks without any physical connections. In these networks there are no fixed topology due to the Mobility of nodes, interference, multipath propagation and path loss. Hence a dynamic routing protocol is needed for these networks to function properly. Many routing protocols have been developed for accomplishing this task. The Main purpose of such an ad hoc network routing Protocol is correct and efficient route establishment between a pair of nodes so that messages may be delivered in a timely manner. Route construction should be done with a minimum of overhead and bandwidth consumption. This paper examines routing protocols for ad hoc networks and evaluates these Protocols based on a given set of parameters. In this work we compared three different types of routing protocols each under the following basic categories - Proactive, Reactive and Hybrid. A total ten different protocols are compared by presenting their characteristics and functionality with a highlight on their merits and drawbacks.