A review of the current status of the chemistry and biology of fostriecin (CI-920) is provided. Fostriecin is a structurally unique, naturally-occurring phosphate monoester that exhibits potent and efficacious antitumor activity. Initially it was suggested that its activity could be attributed to a direct, albeit weak, inhibition of the enzyme topoisomerase II. However, recent studies have shown that fostriecin inhibits the mitotic entry checkpoint through the much more potent and selective inhibition of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) and protein phosphatase 4 (PP4). In fact, it is the most selective small molecule inhibitor of a protein phosphatase disclosed to date. The contribution, if any, that topoisomerase II versus PP2A/PP4 inhibition makes to fostriecin's antitumor activity has not yet been fully defined. Initial phase I clinical trials with fostriecin never reached dose-limiting toxicity or therapeutic dose levels and were halted due to its storage instability and unpredictable chemical purity. Hence, the total synthesis of fostriecin has been pursued in order to confirm its structure and stereochemistry, to provide access to quantities of the pure natural product, and to access key partial structures or simplified/stable analogs. Several additional natural products have been isolated which contain similar structural features (phospholine, phoslactomycins, phosphazomycin, leustroducsins, sultriecin, and cytostatin), and some exhibit comparable biological properties.