We calculate the electronic Raman spectrum of pure conventional and unconventional density waves (U)DW in the mean field approximation. The calculation is carried out in theq→ 0 long wavelength limit, retaining only the quasiparticle contribution. In analogy with unconventional superconductivity, the Raman spectra depend strongly on the polarization of the incoming and scattered light, which affects the low frequency power law behavior and the peak position in the spectra, and can be used to identify which type of gap structure is present in the DW. The Coulomb screening is also considered in the RPA, and we find that it can be ignored in the long wavelength limit due to the vanishing average of the Raman vertex. © 2004 American Institute of Physics