This review presents research in the area of polymeric coatings developed for protecting low earth orbit (LEG) space structures from atomic oxygen. Following a brief description of the LEO environment, ground-based simulation facilities for atomic oxygen and evaluation of protective coatings are discussed. Atomic oxygen resistant coatings based on different polymeric systems such as fluorinated polymers, silicones, poly(carborane-siloxane)s and decarborane-based polymers are presented. Finally, the performances of different coating systems are compared and the scope for further research to improve the performance of some of the coating systems is discussed.