In this article an overview is given about the properties of mercapto-benzothiazoles and sulfenamides in diene rubbers. Both accelerator classes are discussed in terms of processing properties, scorch and vulcanisation speed as also the influence of storage stability on the vulcanisation. Due to the variety of different applications and vulcanisation processes thiazoles and sulfenamides are used in huge quantities in the rubber industry in general and the tire industry in particular.