Lipoxygenases form a heterogeneous family of lipid peroxidizing enzymes, which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of diseases with major health political relevance (bronchial asthma, atherosclerosis, cancer, and osteoporosis). The crystal structures of one mammalian lipoxygenase and of two plant isoenzymes have been solved and the structural bases of important enzyme properties (reaction specificity, membrane binding, and suicidal inactivation) have been investigated in the past. This review will briefly summarize our current understanding on the structural biology of the most important mammalian lipoxygenase isoforms and will also address selected mechanistic features of the lipoxygenase reaction. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.