Autophagy is a dynamic process of subcellular degradation, which has recently sparked great interest as it is now recognized to be involved in various developmental processes and various diseases including cancer and neurodegeneration. Autophagy can function as a cytoprotective mechanism; however, it also has the capacity to cause cell death. A better understanding of autophagy is needed to allow its manipulation for therapeutic purposes, and new insights into the molecular mechanisms of autophagy are now leading to the discovery of exciting new potential drug targets.