Studies on DNA replication in S. pombe have provided powerful insights into the way in which the genome of this model eukaryote is replicated and how the replication process is controlled. These studies have been facilitated by the simplicity and range of methods available in this organism for physiological and genetic analysis of DNA replication mutants. In the future, continued focus on the analysis of such mutants, coupled with increasingly sophisticated biochemical investigation of the processes of DNA replication in both wild-type and mutant cells, will ensure continued rapid progress in this area.