Because of the increasing demand of consumers and industry for "green" products, the importance of the oleochemistry will grow in the future. This paper shows that the modern oleochemistry has developed from "soap-boiling" to a part of the chemical industry which requires all elements of chemical engineering. A wide and pretentious area of activities concerning unit operations and reaction technology is offered to the chemical engineer. The thermal sensitivity of raw materials and products results in high demands in the production process.