Since the first cloning of P2Y receptor sequences in 1993 it has become apparent that this family of G-protein-coupled receptors is omnipresent. At least 25 individual sequences entered in the GenBank sequence database encode P2Y receptors from a variety of species ranging from the little skate Raja erinacea to man. In man, six receptor subtypes have been cloned and found to be functionally active (P2Y(1), P2Y(2), P2Y(4), P2Y(6), P2Y(11), and P2Y(12)). In this article a review of the P2Y receptor subtypes is presented considering both their sequences and the pharmacological profiles of the encoded receptors expressed in heterologous expression systems.