New developments in liquid phase catalytic oxidations of alcohols with O-2 and H2O2 as the primary oxidant are reviewed. Both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts are discussed and compared and emphasis is placed on methods having broad utility for the synthesis of fine chemicals. Mechanistic features of the various systems are also discussed, e.g., oxometal vs. peroxometal pathways in oxidations with H2O2 and oxometal vs. hydridometal pathways with O-2 as the oxidant. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.