His chief work is a monumental Sanskrit dictionary, compiled in collaboration with Otto von Böhtlingk.

A list of Roth's main writings, and further sources on his life and work, can be found in the article "German Indology.

"[1] The original works of Roth include: Zur Litteratur und Geschichte des Veda (On the literature and history of the Veda, 1846), a ground-breaking work on Vedic scholarship and research; Ueber den Mythus von den fünf Menschengeschlechtern ("On the myth of the five races of humans", 1860); Ueber die Vorstellung vom Schicksal in der indischen Sprachweisheit ("On the representation of fate in Indian wisdom literature", 1866); Der Atharva-Veda in Kaschmir (1875); and Ueber Yaçna 31 (1876).

[citation needed] Although more progressive than an earlier generation of Protestant theologians, Roth was also deeply enmeshed in theology.

[2] Roth was additionally responsible for much of the criticisms of the tradition and anti-Brahmanism characteristic of German Indology.